Sword Art Kingdom: Heart's Origin
by Jacob Pendra-Huth
Summary: A prologue to the first 'Sword Art Kingdom', and taking place at the beginning of 'Kingdom Hearts'. This tells of a forgotten friend of Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy; a girl named Philia. As she was freed from SAO, she ended up in Traverse Town, instead, with no memory of her past. In order to discover it, she joins Sora and the gang on their journey to stop the darkness.
1. Blade Without Memories! Enter Philia!

**It has been a while, folks. I know I promised to do the Final Mix of the SAK Aincrad episode, but I want to put this up first, to test a new idea on what people think. Think of this as a prologue to the first 'Sword Art Kingdom'. After so many people in the past gave me 'what if's...' on what the past story was like before this, I figured on creating my own. This is the beginning of Sora's adventures, along with featuring a character that is not from the main canon story of 'Sword Art Online'. She does, however, first appear in the 'Hollow Fragment' video game. So for those who don't know the game, look it up. Without further ado, here is the story of Sora, and his new and forgotten friend.**

 **Also, quick reminder to all, I like adding music into my stories, so if you don't have them on your iTunes or something, check out the music on Youtube. I'm sure you can look for it there.**

* * *

 **Blade Without Memories! Enter Philia!**

* * *

 **Prologue**

 **Disney Castle: Akihiko Kayaba's Study** _(Some time between SAKII & SAK:FF)_

At the desk filled with papers and a computer, Jiminy Cricket stood there right next to Akihiko Kayaba, watching him connect his computer to the device that was used to discover the Datascape inside Jiminy's Journal. He was currently re-reading the story that was stored within the journal, even though the pages were still blank, apart from the message that said 'Thank Naminé'.

"So are you having any luck reading what I had written down in my journal?" Jiminy questioned Kayaba. The man didn't answer. The story he was reading was so amazing, but also somewhat questionable. He understood the kinds of adventures Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy took during their first bout, but there was no mention of the girl Naminé in the story. Not only that, but one thing seemed out of place compared to what he had heard about the heroes' journey.

When he couldn't stand not knowing, he closed his laptop, and stood up. "Jiminy, I would like to speak with you, King Mickey, Donald and Goofy right away." he told the cricket. "Why? What's the matter?" Jiminy asked, confused. "It's something I found in your journal." Kayaba answered, "I want to make sure of something…"

* * *

In Mickey's study, Kayaba gathered the four together. Mickey sat at his desk, while Jiminy, Donald and Goofy all surrounded the scientist that called them together. They all looked confused as to why they were summoned.

"You wanted to speak to us about something?" Mickey questioned. "Yes." Kayaba answered, closing his eyes, "I have read a great deal of Jiminy's first journal, and learned all about the journey that happened surrounding Sora and the four of you. I had also recalled all that you have told me about those adventures, as well, and I noticed a contradiction."

"You what?" Goofy asked, confused. "He means what I wrote and what we said were different in some way." Jiminy explained. "That can't be right." Donald retorted, "We told you everything we did on our journey."

"Yes, I noticed what you did, but you failed to tell me that there was another member in your party that joined you on your journey ever since Traverse Town." Kayaba explained, opening his eyes again, "You have not said anything about this certain individual in the stories you've told me. I would like an explanation."

At this, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy all looked at one another, more confused than ever. Mickey pondered on what Kayaba noticed, and looked to him. "Are you sure you read the journal correctly?" he asked. "Positive." Kayaba answered, "After the incident with all the bugs, the journal should've been restored to normal, and there were no errors in its' pages. I made sure of that."

"Do you remember anyone with us before?" Donald questioned Goofy. "Nope." he answered. "I certainly don't have a clue." Jiminy added. "Are you sure about that?" Kayaba asked, getting the three's attention, "From the looks of the journal, she was a valuable member of your team, as well as a dear friend of yours." The three looked surprised at this.

"Tell me, who was the person that was with them, according to the journal?" Mickey asked. Kayaba paused for a second, ready to explain his findings in deeper detail. "The person's name…is Philia." Kayaba answered.

* * *

 _(Philia speaking) In the beginning, I was somewhere. For a while, I went everywhere. Now, my path is anywhere._  
 _A journey that started with no memories of my past, but treasured memories were given to me after that. Some of them were happy ones. Others were reasons I wish I could forget. Regardless, they inspired me of what I had to go through to be who I am today, and to continue searching for who I was. This story is about my journey with great friends, and the path of memories that we created. These are our origins that are our reality._

 _(Cue Kingdom Hearts 'Simple and Clean')_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Treasure Hunter**

 **Location: Sword Art Online, Aincrad, Floor 59 (Danac) Fields**  
 **Date: Nov. 7, 2024, 9:30 am**

In the plains of floor 59, a certain girl was wandering about, looking about at the scenery about her. She was in her mid-teens, and was dressed in a mainly blue-colored combat attire, including a short, cape-like coat, with a hoodie that covered her head. The dagger, Sword Breaker, was sheathed underneath the cloth draped over her right hip. She wore a vambrace on her right arm, armor pieces covering each breast and her upper right arm. She had satchels on the back of her belt around her waist, and one on her left leg.

She stopped at the top of an incline, seeing a large, shabby-looking windmill off in the distance. "There it is…" she muttered, and she pulled off her hood, revealing her ruffled, dandelion hair, and green eyes.

She gazed at the windmill, then waved her hand to pull up her menu, seeing the notes she carried. "According to Argo's information, that old windmill is actually a dungeon for a quest." she told herself, looking at the info, "The reward is suppose to be a rare piece of equipment. However, no only are there tough monsters in that place, but there are also traps all the way. Not many people know about this place, and no one has been able to reach the top without making a hasty retreat or dying."

She furrowed her brow as she gazed at the windmill, then she grinned as she finished, "Guess that means I, Philia, should take care of this place before any more deaths take place, and take the equipment at the top." With that, she charged forward, ready to take on the dungeon.

Upon reaching the front, she noticed a middle-aged woman next to the entrance, looking up at the top. Philia recognized her as an NPC, and the name 'Dulcinea' appeared above her head.  
"She has to be the quest-giver." she told herself, and she walked up to the woman, "Excuse me, do you need any help?" Dulcinea turned to Philia, and responded, "Oh, a wandering warrior. I beg of you to please help me." At that moment, Philia's quest log appeared, showing the quest 'Save the Foolish Knight'. Philia accepted the quest, prepared to face the challenge.

"There was once a knight who was in love with me." Dulcinea started, "He was old, and very imaginative, taking on countless adventures for his own honor. However, some time passed, and he died. And unfortunately, his soul, filled with determination, won't leave his body. He and his companion are at the top of this windmill, where he once fought it, and is unable to rest. I would like to go up there to see him, but the interior is filled with traps and souls of the deceased. Please, I beg of you; save that man's soul by fighting him to the death, and give him a battle worthy of his honor."

"You can count on me." Philia responded, and the quest log indicated the quest had started. She turned to the windmill entrance, thinking. _That story sounds familiar._ she thought to herself, _Wasn't that based off of that old novel I read some time ago? This quest must be a spin-off from it._ She looked up at the tower, then at the door again, and entered through.

She opened the wooden door and entered into the dungeon. Using her Trap-Seeking skills, she was able to see where the traps were all about the entrance, along with the monsters far off using her Searching Skills. "Okay, let's go." She told herself, and she charged in.

 _(Cue SAO OST 'Luminous Sword')_

Philia made sure to avoid all the traps as she continued on the path ahead. She pulled out her Sword Breaker as the nearest monster, a skeleton-like monster called 'Worker Skeleton', noticed her. It raised its' one-handed ax, and swung at Philia, who caught the weapon in the 'teeth' of her weapon. She threw the attack to the side, and slashed at the monster, making it flinch. She then unleashed her 'Side Bite' Dagger Skill, unleashing two side slashes back-to-back, taking care of the monster.

Another skeleton was about to go upon her, but she avoided the slash of its' ax, back away from it. It came charging at her, which was exactly what she wanted. The skeleton activated a trap, causing it to be paralyzed. Philia bounded forward, and unleashed another skill 'Tri Pierce' Dagger Skill, stabbing the monster three times, forming a triangular energy wave afterwards. The monster reared back in pain, and disappeared. "It's easy if you know where the traps are." she told herself, and she charged along the corridor.

Philia kept finding the staircases, leading to other levels of the dungeon. Some levels were mazes, others were open areas. Both of them contained not only monsters to deal with, but also various traps as well. However, in both cases, she was easily able to avoid the traps, or even use them to defeat the enemies in the dungeon. Although, it didn't seem to work on the flying enemies, in which she just relied on her own skills with her dagger. There were also treasure chests here and there, and practically half of them were booby-trapped. Fortunately, Philia not only could avoid traps, but disarm them in order to get the items within.

"All that training in Aincrad has really paid off for me…" she told herself as she reached the fifth floor, "Course, I should also thank Argo and for her assistance in telling me the best spawning places." She raced along the path, and headed to the sixth floor.

When she reached the top of the stairs, Philia noticed that not only was she outside, but near the top of the windmill. The large propellors were spinning slowly right by her, and the path ahead curved around the exterior of the building, heading upwards. "Almost there…" She told herself, and she raced to the top.

When she reached the end of the path, she found herself on the flat surface top of the windmill. There was another room at the other side of the area, with a door blocking it. Philia activated her Trap-Seeking skills, looking about the area. "Looks like four traps are still active around here." she told herself, "They're easy to avoid, but I feel that there's more to this place than that."

She had taken a few steps into the area before suddenly encountering a different kind of trap. All of a sudden, the pathway behind her produced a wall of stone that prevented exiting. Philia turned around in shock at the sight of it. "Crap!" she told herself as two lights appeared, spawning two skeletal knights on the spot. One of them, with lighter armor, had the name 'Sancho' above its' head, with one health bar. The other had more metal armor, and the name 'Undead Quixote' above it, with two life bars. Both of them carried a sword, but Quixote had a spear sheathed in his back.

"Well, this isn't good." Philia told herself, "I didn't expect to deal with two boss monsters at once." She eyed each opponent carefully, noticing the equipment they carried. "Guess I should watch out for the leader, and take care of the partner first." she decided, readying her dagger, "I won't be dying today!"

Philia charged forward as Undead Quixote charged at her, swinging his blade at her. She avoided the attack, turning around with a side swipe that made it fumble away from her. She then continued racing to Sancho, who attempted to slash at her, but Philia parried the attack with her dagger, knocked it aside, then unleashed her her Cross Edge Dagger Skill, tracing a cross on Sancho with her weapon, and causing it great damage.

Quixote was coming back to fight Philia, and she quickly leapt out of the way of the sword slash. She saw both opponents come at her, and she doubled back, making sure to avoid the trap behind her. However, this did give her an idea. She placed herself behind the trap, causing the two opponents to come at her. They activated the trap, which caused paralysis onto them. "Gotcha!" she growled, and she readied her blade, unleashing her Round Accel Dagger Skill, which was her only area attack skill. This attack both of the enemies, dropping Quixote to half of his first bar of health, and dropping Sancho down to a quarter left.

Quixote recovered from the paralysis quicker, and it unleashed a series of swipes at Philia, who did her best to parry them all. She ended up getting cut a couple times, decreasing her HP. She saw Sancho recover, and knew that she needed to act quickly.

Using her quick footwork, she ducked underneath Quixote's horizontal slash, swiping at the feet of the monster, followed by an upper slash that made it fumble back again. She then charged at Sancho again, who came to aid Quixote in his fight, and the two crossed blades. Using the teeth of her dagger, Philia disarmed the monster, and unleashed a series of slashes, not giving any time for it to recover. With one vertical slash down the middle, Sancho fell back as he glowed a bright blue, and disappeared into data.

Philia panted from fighting so hard against the opponent, but knew it wasn't over as Quixote's roar made her turn to him. She saw the monster enraged by the loss of his comrade, and saw that the monster gained an attack increased icon by its' meter. Philia prepared herself for the stronger battle as Quixote charged at her.

The two engaged in a heavy battle between sword and dagger. With the attack boost, Philia was finding it difficult to parry Quixote's attack without taking some damage. She ended up having to dodge the attacks it was using, retaliating any way she could with her Dagger Skills and such. It took a bit of time, but she managed to take out one of the life bars of Quixote.

Philia backed off from the skeleton as it threw away its' sword, pulling out the spear from its' back. _Okay, so it's gonna change its' battle algorithm by changing weapons on me._ she thought to herself, seeing Quixote's spear shine purple, spun it around, then charge at Philia, who barely avoided the full blow of the Spear Skill it unleashed. She did take some damage from the shockwave of the attack. Before she could recover, she noticed Quixote regaining itself as it glared at her again.

 _A battle between a long-ranged weapon like the spear against my dagger is not favorable._ Philia thought to herself, _I'll need to think outside the box here…_ She then recalled the three remaining traps around the area, and got an idea. She raced to one of the traps near her, and waited for Quixote to come at her. It charged in with spear at hand, and Philia sidestepped the attack, causing Quixote to step on and activate the trap, paralyzing it again. "Now's my chance!" Philia declared as her blade shined, and she unleashed her Fad Edge Dagger Skill, swiping at it four times, causing it a bleeding affect. Quixote recovered itself, and the battle ensued.

Philia kept up the dance with Undead Quixote throughout the battlefield. She used the two remaining traps to unleash her trick twice more, retaliating with her Dagger Skills while he was unable to move. It was extremely helpful, but it wasn't enough to defeat him. After the traps were gone, Quixote's life bar was in the red.

Philia backed off, till she and her opponent were in the center of the battlefield. Philia noticed her life bar was in the yellow. "If I take one more move, I'm done." she muttered to herself, "I need to figure out a way to overcome his spear and strength in some way."

Quixote charged in with another Spear Skill, ready to skewer Philia with his final attack. Philia looked at the spear in worry, but then thought of something. _Of course!_ she realized, racing towards Quixote with dagger at hand, _I was so worried about the long-ranged skills of the blade, that I completely forgotten one weakness that the spear possesses…_

She saw Quixote rear back his spear, then thrust it forward with all his might. Philia ducked out of the way of the attack, the spear's blade scratching her cheek as she passed. _If I can just avoid the attack by getting closer, then it gives me an opportunity._ she thought to herself, her blade shining as she pulled it back, _I can get between him and his weapon, and unleash the finishing blow!_ She roared as she unleashed her Armor Pierce Dagger Skill, which despite being the weakest Dagger Skill, was enough to break through Quixote's armor, landing the final blow.

There was a pause in which no one moved, then Quixote disappeared in a scatter of data. Philia panted as she fell on all fours to the ground. The last attack was a close one indeed. She closed her eyes for a second, then opened them as she lifted herself up again, looking about. The coast was clear, or so she thought.

Just then, a figure appeared in front of Philia. It was an elderly man, wearing the same armor as the Undead Quixote wore. However, he was also see-through, showing that he was nothing more than the soul of the man she fought.

"Thank you, young warrior." Quixote thanked Philia, "You have displayed to me an incredible fight, worthy of my honor." "Dulcinea sent me up here to rescue you." Philia explained, "She was worried." "Ah, my sweet Dulcinea." Quixote sighed, "I am truly sorry for worrying her so. She was the love of my life, but I only thought of my honor in battle and nothing else. I didn't want to leave this land without a legacy I can be proud of."

"You don't need to go so far, Quixote." said a voice, and Philia turned to see none other than Dulcinea herself walking up to them, the pathway up to the top unblocked. "My sweet Dulcinea!" Quixote called out in surprise. "But I thought she couldn't reach this place." Philia recalled.

"Forgive me, my dear princess." Quixote apologized, walking up to Dulcinea, "I was a fool. A fool who had no idea how much I made you worry." "It is alright, Quixote." Dulcinea replied, putting her hands into Quixote's, "You are a proud knight, and have left a legacy to remember. This young warrior and you had a mighty duel, one that was fought with all of your hearts. Now, you can remain at peace."

Just then, Dulcinea's body started to glow, along with Quixote, and her body started to become less opaque. Philia was surprised at this, then realized what this meant; Dulcinea was also a soul.

"And now that Quixote's soul is at peace, then I too shall be at peace." the woman finished, the two NPCs turning to Philia. "Leave a legacy of adventures in your wake, young warrior." Quixote told her, "Never let anyone tell you what is not possible, but prove them wrong." With that, Quixote and Dulcinea vanished into a sparkling of lights, floating into the sky, and disappearing.

Philia watched them leave, then saw the menu pop up, showing that she completed the quest, with a list of col and experience, along with some prizes added to it. "Well, that was an interesting quest, to say the least." Philia told herself, looking at the prizes, "None of these look particularly rare, so there must be more somewhere."

She looked about, and saw the place where Quixote's body was before. She saw a key on the ground. She walked over and picked it up, looking at it carefully, then at the door on the far end of the battlefield. "I wonder…" she thought to herself, and she walked over to the door. She unlocked the door with her key, and opened the door to the uppermost part of the windmill.

Inside, she could see one last treasure chest inside. She walked over and opened the chest. Inside, she saw a pair of boots, and they looked like well-designed, medium-armored equipment. "Nice!" Philia cheered, "I knew I could get some rare loot out of this! Better tell this to Argo."

* * *

 **Location: Town of Danac**  
 **Date: Nov. 7, 2024, 1:22 pm**

Philia finally returned to Danac, where she found Argo near the clock tower, where a mysterious murder mystery happened some time ago. Argo was an easy person to recognize due to being mainly covered in a muddy brown coat and hood. Underneath, she wore a full-body leather armor, while she had brown eyes, curly auburn hair, and three whisker-like markings on each side of her face.

Argo noticed Philia coming to her, waving her arm to her. "Ah, Philia." Argo greeted her, "How was the quest I sent you on?" "Quite a fun and interesting experience." Philia replied, "Your info was right about how difficult it was, though."

"But not enough to stop your treasure-hunting skills, eh?" Argo questioned with a sly grin, "Did you get the information about the quest?" "Every bit I could." Philia answered, pulling up her menu, "I wrote about it along the way here. Here it is."

Philia pulled up the info she wrote along the way to town, and passed it onto Argo, who read it through. "A quest based on the story of Don Quixote, eh?" Argo noticed, "And it looks like you got some nice loot out of it."

"Yep, look at these." Philia pointed out her new boots, which she now wore, "They are thick leather armor. Not only provide armor, but great AGI and DEX. They were worth the trouble to go through." "That's a nice, rare piece of equipment, Philia." Argo noted, "And this is high-quality info you've given me. I knew I could count on you for this quest."  
"How much is the info worth?" Philia asked. "Let me see…" Argo muttered, analyzing the quest info, "It is well-detailed, and it is a difficult quest to complete. How's about 3,500 col?" "That sounds like a deal to me." Philia responded. Argo traded the info for the col amount, giving it to Philia.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Philia." Argo thanked her, "I would've asked my buddy, Kii-bou, to take care of this, but he doesn't have your treasure-hunting skills. Plus, he is with the front lines right now, taking on the 75th Floor Boss."

"Yeah, you've told me about him before." Philia recalled, looking at the sky above, wondering how the assault team was doing, "Wow, he must be powerful if he fights in the front lines. Wish I could be that strong, too."

"Hey, don't put yourself down, Phi-chan." Argo retorted, using her pet name, "You are practically the best treasure hunter in SAO. Plus, you told me you've almost maxed out your Dagger Skills. With any luck, you should be able to complete quests on even higher floors than this. Just be sure to sell any quest info to me, and I'll pass it on to others."

"Thanks, Argo." Philia thanked the info broker, "Well, I think I need a break. I know of a nice spot to go rest at. Take care of yourself!" "You do the same, Philia." Argo replied, and the two parted ways.

* * *

 **Location: Outskirts of Danac**  
 **Date: Nov. 7, 2024, 2:50 pm**

Underneath the tree on the outskirts of Danac, Philia decided to look through her equipment while eating her lunch; a bowl of beef stew to go. "Man, this is good." she sighed, finishing off her meal, "I wonder what I should do with my old boots. Maybe I should sell them off to someone. Wonder if that Agil can take more than weapons at his shop?"

She sighed as she looked up into the sky, thinking about everything she went through today. She recalled Quixote's final words to her. _"Leave a legacy of adventures in your wake, young warrior. Never let anyone tell you what is not possible, but prove them wrong."_ She then thought about what Argo told her. " _With any luck, you should be able to complete quests on even higher floors than this."_

"Adventures, quests. I was never like this even before joining SAO." Philia told herself, "Ever since I was trapped in this game two years ago, I wanted to find my way of living here. I was never really good at anything outside of this world. But here, I not only became a treasure hunter, but also a useful person to others, and I get to go on so many adventures. I still might need to make more friends, but…" She couldn't admit to herself that she found it hard to make friends so easily. She wish she could, but for now, she was happy the way things were.

She stood up and was just about to head back to town when she noticed something. Walking along the road past her was a man, but he was wearing attire that was unfamiliar to Philia. It certainly didn't look like anything she had seen in SAO. his attire was mainly a black robe with several belts and satchels, a red cape hanging over, a brown scarf around his neck, and his face was covered in red bandages and black belts, with his mouth and right eye the only skin showing.

Philia watched the man cautiously as he stopped near her position, looking about. "Who is he?" Philia asked herself, "He certainly doesn't look like he was from around here." The man felt Philia's gaze, and looked towards her. For a while, the two looked at one another, neither one speaking.

"Who are you?" Philia finally spoke up. "I could be nothing, or anybody." the man spoke back, "Regardless, I am not suppose to be a part of this world, only curious about it." "Huh?" Philia was confused by the man's words.

"Tell me, while your minds come to this world, do your hearts also join with it?" the man asked. "My heart?" Philia asked, "You're not making any sense whatsoever." "You are probably right." the man responded, "There is so little you know about the world outside this place."

"I know a lot about the real world." Philia retorted, disliking the fact that he seems to disregard her intelligence. "No. I speak of the worlds outside both this and the other world." the man corrected, eyeing her, "But perhaps you might learn if you take that first step."

"What do you mean by that?!" Philia demanded, "Are you telling me you're not from IRL? Or are you just playing with me?" "That is up to you to decide." the man responded. Both Philia and the man looked at one another in silence again. Philia can't help but feel annoyed and curious about the man before her. What was he trying to say to her?

Just then, a woman's voice sounded over the SAO speakers, which came from everywhere, causing the two to look up. "ON NOVEMBER 7TH, AT 2:55 PM; THE GAME HAS BEEN CLEARED." the announcement called out, "REPEAT; THE GAME HAS BEEN CLEARED."

This news shocked Philia. "The game…has been cleared?" she gasped, "But, I thought the front lines has only reached Floor 75. What the heck is going on?"  
"It seems like I came here a bit too late." the man spoke up, drawing Philia's attention back to him, "No matter. I have seen enough. I should continue on a different path once more."

Suddenly, the land began to shake all about them. "What the heck is going on?!" Philia demanded, feeling the ground shake beneath her. "From what I noticed in the data, this land is suppose to self-destroy itself once this 'game' has been completed." the man explained, "I guess this means we will part ways. We'll never see each other again."

"Hey!" Philia barked, raising a hand to the man. She raced down to him, but just as she barely touched him, he disappeared into data, which exited into the sky. Philia looked up and gasped in shock as a digital wormhole opened up, and started sucking in the data of the man.

Suddenly, Philia felt her body start to glow, and she looked down at herself. Her body was about to disappear. With the game cleared, she was about to return home again. "Guess my adventures are over now." Philia told herself, clenching her fists. She felt upset that she couldn't continue her adventures, but knew that she would always remember them.

Just as she was about to accept leaving the world, something started to happen. Her body started to spark. She became paralyzed on the spot. _What's happening?_ she asked herself, _I can't even move. I can't even speak!_ The wormhole above her started to act weird as well. Suddenly, a dark shadow started to poor out through the wormhole. Philia barely moved her head upwards to see it happen. She was terrified at the sight. Was this suppose to happen to her?

"No!" barked the man's voice, and suddenly, a wormhole opened up at Philia's feet, and she fell through just as the shadow neared her. She fell into darkness, he mind losing conscious. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak. She couldn't even think clearly. _What's…happening to me?_ Philia asked herself, _What's…going to happen to me? Someone…please save…me…_

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The New Girl in Traverse Town**

 **Location: Traverse Town, Second District**

After leaving the dress shop, Aerith walked back to the hotel, carrying a bag of new clothes for her. "These new dresses came at a great price." she told herself, "Now, I should probably head to the florist to see if any new plants have come in."

"You're acting like you don't have a care in the world." said an upbeat girl's voice. Aerith looked down to see Yuffie leap up onto the stone side of the path from the ground below.

"I should treat myself from time to time." Aerith retorted, "Besides, with all the Heartless about, we should at least try to stay positive."

"You got that right." Yuffie sighed, sitting down on the stone, "I keep noticing more and more stars disappearing from the sky. It's looking pre-tty blank in some parts. Wish we knew a better way to save those worlds."

"I feel sorry for all those people who have to lose their homes, or even their hearts." Aerith sighed, "I wish our home didn't have to be overtaken as well."

"Yeah. Squall hasn't even forgiven himself for it." Yuffie noted, "He's so down about it, that he even changed his name. Talk about stubborn." There was a pause for a second, then Yuffie sighed, "Oh well. Might as well do what we can here until the opportunity arrives."

They were just heading down the alleyway to the hotel when Aerith looked up and gasped, "Look!" Both Yuffie and she looked up to see a sparkling light fall out of the sky. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that a person was within that light. They backed off slightly as the light hit the ground before them, scattering it about. The two ladies shielded their eyes from the burst, then opened them. On the ground before them was a young teenager with ruffled dandelion hair, and blue and black garments that looked designed for combat, and her dagger sheathed in her scabbard.

"Woah. That looked like a rough landing." Yuffie muttered as Aerith ran forward, investigating the girl. "She's still alive, but she's unconscious." she noticed.

"You think she's another victim of the Heartless?" Yuffie asked. "More than likely." Aerith answered, "But we can't leave her here. Let's bring her back to my room." Yuffie saddled the unconscious girl on her back, and she followed Aerith as they returned to the hotel.

* * *

 **Red Room**

Philia was fast asleep. Her conscious started to gather as she had her eyes closed. _Where am I?_ she thought to herself, then she felt the texture on her back. It was soft, and warm, and her head was resting on a cushion. _A bed?_ she wondered.

With more effort than normal, Philia opened her eyes, looking up at the ceiling above. she saw a frame formed from the tall bed posts above her. She tilted her head to one side, seeing the room she was in was small, mainly red. She turned to the other side, and was met with a face. "Wake-e, wake-e, sleepy-head." she called to her. Philia was so shocked, she leapt into a sitting position, furthering herself away from the girl.

When the shock settled, Philia noticed two people in the room. The one that woke her up was as young as her, with green eyes and short black hair, hiding a metal headband with two green tassels underneath. She wore a green tube top with two blue belts that acted like suspenders for them, tan short-shorts with with another belt around it, white stockings, orange shoes and leather gauntlets, dark detached sleeves, and a yellow scarf.

The second girl looked older than her, with blue eyes and brown hair that had a sort of bunny ear-style in front, curled hair on the sides, and she wore a red ribbon behind her, holding her braids in place. Her attire was mainly a pink dress that reached her lower legs, with a lilac belt around her waist, held by black string tied in a ribbon, brown boots, and coils wrapped around her wrist. She also had a small black choker with another tied ribbon in front.

"I'm glad to see you are okay." Aerith told her in relief, "You had been asleep for two days straight." Philia was having a hard time comprehending her environment, mainly because her head hurt a bit.

"Where am I?" Philia asked. "You, my friend, are in a little world called Traverse Town." Yuffie answered, "It's where all the people that manage to escape the Heartless end up at." "Is that what happened to you?" Aerith asked. Philia tried to give an answer, but she couldn't remember what happened to her before. She shook her head sadly.

"Okay, then. How 'bout you give us your name." said Yuffie. Philia looked down, wondering. "My..my name is…" she started, and it took a little while before she figured it out, "…Philia…yeah, that's my name; Philia." "Nice to meet you, Philia. My name is Aerith." the brown-haired girl introduced herself. "And I'm the great ninja Yuffie." the other girl followed, waving her hands for attention.

"Tell us; where are you from?" Aerith questioned. Philia paused to think about it, but she couldn't give an answer. In fact… "I don't know." she answered, "All I can remember is my name. Apart from that, I don't remember anything else."

"Uh-oh…" Yuffie moaned, "I think you might've landed on your head when you came here." "Don't say that, Yuffie." Aerith retorted, "Still, it's a shame that you can't remember anything. I'm sorry about that." Philia looked down, worried.

"Oh, by the way, we had your attire cleaned and repaired." Yuffie pointed out, changing the subject, "We ended up changing you while you were asleep." Philia looked down herself, noticing the light blue night-gown she was wearing. "Here's your old clothes." said Aerith, pulling out Philia's old battle garments from the dresser, presenting them to Philia one part at a time. "I gotta say, that's a lot of equipment to work with." Yuffie noted as Philia looked at each part, "Hope you at least remember to put them on."

It took maybe ten minutes to figure it out, but Philia managed to place all her gear back on like normal. She checked herself out in a body mirror as Yuffie and Aerith watched her.

"So, do those clothes bring back any memories?" Aerith asked. Philia pulled out the dagger sheathed in her belt, looking at her reflection from the blade. She shook her head. "These clothes don't bring back any memories." she stated, "Although, they do feel somewhat familiar. But, no matter how hard I try…"

Aerith walked over and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure your memories will come back to you, eventually." she assured her. Philia looked up at Aerith, who smiled at her. And for the first time since she arrived, Philia smiled back.

"Welp, now that you are geared up and ready to face the world again, how 'bout we go show you the town?" Yuffie suggested. "That sounds like a great idea." Aerith agreed, "You've been bed-ridden for so long, I think it would be best for you to get some exercise." Philia nodded in approval.

They left the hotel, walking through the alleyways of the 2nd District until they reached the open area. Philia looked all around in amazement. The architecture was more Victorian-style, and it was night-time. The lampposts and the buildings were the only ones that showed light, along with the stars in the sky.

"It's very pretty." Philia stated, looking about. "It's not like our own world, but it does have its' perks." Yuffie stated. "Your world?" Philia questioned, "You mean there are more inhabited worlds than this one?"

"Yes. There are all kinds of worlds out there." Aerith stated, "Although, they're suppose to be a secret. They were originally separated from one another, all of which had no knowledge of each other's existence." "That meant our world, too." Yuffie added, "And you must've come from a different world, as well."

"I'm…from a different world?!" Philia asked, amazed. She looked down, perplexed. She was even more confused than when she arrived. Not only did she have no memory of herself, but now she was given this startling bit of news. This was way bigger than what she thought.

After a moment of walking about, Philia asked, "You said that the worlds were once separated from one another. Does his mean they are connected, now?" "They are, but ever since the Heartless appeared, things have changed." Aerith answered.

"What are Heartless?" Philia asked. "They're creatures that come from the darkness in people's hearts." Yuffie answered, and her tone became serious, "Who knows where they came from. All of a sudden, they appeared out of nowhere, and not only turn people into Heartless, but also consume worlds into darkness."

"Look! Up there!" Aerith gasped, pointing into the sky. Philia and Yuffie looked up into the sky. The stars were dazzling brightly above them, but Philia noticed what Aerith was pointing at. At one moment, a single star twinkled brightly, and the next moment, it disappeared.

"Another world is gone…" Aerith muttered. "What's that mean?" Philia asked, "Were you talking about that star?" "Every star up there is a world." Aerith explained, "If a star goes out, that means the world has been consumed by the Heartless." "If nothing is done, the Heartless will continue to consume worlds until there is nothing left!" Yuffie finished, "We can't let them take this world."

At that cue, Philia, Yuffie and Aerith noticed shadows on the ground in front of them. The shadows lifted off the ground to reveal themselves as black creatures with yellow eyes. They stood like humans, but were shorter than them, they crouched over, and they had claws and insect-like antennas.

"And speaking of the devils!" Yuffie stated, pulling out a large, four-pointed shuriken. Aerith temporarily lifted the skirt of her dress, and she pulled out two wooden sticks, connecting them together to form a quarterstaff. "You should hold back. You haven't recovered yet." Aerith told Philia, "Let us take care of things, here."

She and Yuffie charged in, striking the monsters with their weapons. The Heartless could only pounce and strike with their claws, but were unsuccessful against the two ladies, as they were striking them down, some even disappearing into smoke when they were defeated.

Philia watched in amazement, wondering if she could fight like them. Suddenly, she detected something, and turned around to see four of the same Heartless appear behind her. Frightened, she stepped back a few paces. She then realized she had her own weapon, and pulled out her dagger. She held it like an amateur would, her arm shaking a bit.

"Philia!" Aerith called out, whacking a Heartless away in order to get to the girl, but was stopped my more Heartless appearing. "Don't worry about her." Yuffie called out, throwing her shuriken at a pair of Heartless, "She has a weapon, so she should be able to hold out against the small-fries for a while. Besides, it might be a chance for her to regain some of her old memories. If there's one thing your body never forgets, it is how to fight."

Philia readied herself as one of the Heartless pounced at her. Philia swiped her blade at it, repelling the Heartless. Another one came at her, but she parried its attack, too. The remaining two made a pounce for her, this time sending her tumbling back. She sat back up again, moaning a bit. She saw the Heartless draw closer to her.

 _Give me a break!_ she thought to herself, _I can't remember how to fight, so how can I endure fighting against these monster?_! Philia scrunched her face up, desperately trying to remember how to fight. Suddenly, the Heartless all attacked at once. Philia looked up, seeing the enemy coming in. Then without thinking, she bounded to her feet and sprung forward, slashing at each enemy with great reflexes and speed. The attack was so quick and strong, that by the time she made it to the other side of them, they disappeared together.

Philia blinked, then looked at her dagger. "How…how did I do that?!" she asked herself, "It's like my body responded to by wish, and it just moved on its' own." "See? She's got the hang of it." Yuffie assured Aerith, who was surprised at Philia's attack.

Walking from the opposite side of the 2nd District from Philia was a man. He had black hair that reached beneath his neck and had dark blue eyes. He wore an open black jacket with a red emblem on his short sleeves, a white shirt underneath, a silver pendant with a lion-like emblem in front, red and black belts wrapped around his waist, black pants and shoes, three red belts wrapped around his left arm, black gloves, and he carried a weapon that was a cross between a sword and a revolver.

The man watched as Philia looked at her dagger, wondering about who the girl was. Just then, Philia saw another Heartless appear, but it had armor on it. She readied herself to fight again, hoping that the last attack wasn't a fluke. She trusted her body would move her to fight this opponent.

The Heartless pulled itself back, then unleashed a cyclone kick, to which Philia parried with her blade. She retaliated with a pair of slashes, causing the Heartless to tumble away. It got back up as Philia charged in, and the two clashed for a few seconds, the Heartless trying to fend off Philia's attacks, while she realized just how tough this Heartless was.

"I won't let you beat me." Philia growled as she stepped back. The Heartless took another chance to unleash a cyclone kick. Philia twirled her blade back, ready to strike. Suddenly, the blade of her weapon glowed bright green-yellow. This attack attracted the attention of Yuffie, Aerith and the man as the Heartless bounded at Philia, and she lunged her blade back at it. Not only did Philia stop the attack, but her blade pierced the Heartless's armor, sending it flying until it disappeared into smoke.

Philia panted slightly, but regained herself as she looked at her dagger once more. "What the heck was that?" she asked herself, "It was a lot stronger than what it should be."  
"Nice fighting out there." Yuffie called out as she and Aerith raced to Philia's side. "I'm surprised you were able to pull off all of that." Aerith stated, "Did that mean you recalled some of your memories?" "Not exactly…" Philia answered, placing a hand on her head as she recalled all the accomplishments she just did, "I think my body was able to pull off all those moves. Even that one that made my blade glow. How in the heck did I do that?"

"Sounds to me like you were use to fighting before you came here." The man stated, walking up from behind Aerith and Yuffie. "Oh, Leon!" Yuffie called to him.

Leon walked up to Philia, who looked nervous at the man. He was radiating a strong aura of strength. "I see the girl has finally woken from her beauty nap." Leon told her, "You sure have some bad timing to come here."

"Her name is Philia." Aerith explained, "Unfortunately, she's lost all memories of her past. All she could remember is her name." "I see." Leon understood, turning from Aerith to Philia, "The names Leon. Hope you're prepared to face the enemies in the future. This was a small bunch of Heartless. There's bound to be more, later on." Philia looked back at Leon, worried. _There were more of these things coming?_

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Hope Against the Heartless**

Leon guided the three girls to the 1st District, which looked like the central plaza of Traverse Town. They entered a shop, where Philia was introduced to four characters.  
One of them was an old guy with blond hair, blue eyes and goggles on his forehead. He had a white short-sleeved shirt, a tan belly warmer, blue pants, gray socks and black shoes. He also had on a necklace with an orange charm, and he had a long toothpick in his mouth.

The other three characters were…well, they weren't human. They were three anthropomorphic ducklings, and they were triplets. The only differences between them were the colors of their garments, which were basically a hat and a short-sleeved shirts. There were sitting about the counter the man was working at.

"Howdy there." the old man greeted the group as they entered, "Looks like the gangs all here…" He then noticed Philia in the group, and added, "…plus one more. Who's the girl?" "This is Philia." Yuffie introduced her, "She was the girl we found after crash-landing in front of Aerith and I."

"Oh, so this is the one." the old man realized, "Hey there, young lady. The name's Cid. These three are Huey, Dewey and Louie." The one in red clothes raised his hand first at his name, followed by the one in blue clothes, ending with the one in green clothes.

"So what kind of shop is this?" Philia asked. "This is where we work." Cid answered, indicating him and the ducklings, "We sell all your needs to replenish yourself against those dang Heartless."

He turned to the ducklings as he remembered, "That reminds me; you three were suppose to get more supplies for my shop. Get movin', and don't come back until you got them, 'kay?" "Okay, gramps." Huey answered as he and his brothers hopped went towards the door. "Don't call me 'gramps'!" he roared to them as they passed the group and exited the shop, "Oh, forget it."

Once the team found places to sit or, in Leon's case, lean on, Aerith filled Cid in on Philia, and what happened during the battle with the Heartless. "No kiddin'…" Cid said after they were done, "So you ain't got no memory of your past, but you were able to fight those Heartless off with that dagger, and your instincts?"

"Kind of." Philia answered, placing her dagger on the table in front of them, "It was like my body somehow knew how to fight for me. I can't really explain how I did it, either."  
"It must've been because, before you came to this world, you were a fighter, and had fought all sorts of battles." Leon told her, "The way you were fighting did show that off, really easily."

"Yeah, but what I like to know is how you pulled off that last attack." Yuffie wondered, "You have to admit, Leon, that it was pretty cool. I mean, it broke the armor of that Heartless." "I don't even know what that was, either." Philia answered, "All of a sudden, it was like I wanted to finish the battle with one final attack, and I focused my strength into my blade, unleashing that attack."

"Sounds to me you must've had some sort of skills under your belt before you came to this world." Leon stated. "Some sort of…skills?" Philia repeated slowly. She looked down to the floor, wondering. Why did that sound familiar to her? Suddenly, her head started to throb, and she clutched it in both hands, gasping in pain. Aerith came to her side while the other looked to Philia with worry and concern. "Philia!" Aerith called out as she grabbed her shoulders. "Hey, you doin' okay, girly?!" Cid asked her.

When the pain finally died down, Philia panted a bit as she recovered herself. "What happened?" Aerith asked her. "Maybe…did you remember something?" Leon guessed. Philia slowly opened her eyes, holding her head, as she then recalled something. "Dagger…Skills…" she panted, "I remember…that skill. It was…Armor Pierce…Dagger Skill."

"Dagger Skill?" Yuffie repeated, "That was what you did then?" "Y-Yes." Philia answered, regaining herself enough to look up, "That's the name of those kinds of special attacks I am able to use with my dagger. The one I used before was called 'Armor Pierce'."

"You say it like there are other kinds of moves other than the one you said you used before." Cid stated, "Do you know what they are?" Philia shook her head. "I don't. I know there are others, but I can't seem to remember them clearly. But I bet if I continue working with my weapon, I might remember them again." "Well, it's a start." Leon stated, "At least we figured out what you are capable of, and what you will be able to do."

"Still, with a name like 'Armor Pierce', the attack fits what you did like a glove." Yuffie stated, "I mean, for any kind of person, even us, it's nearly impossible to break any armor of a Heartless. Even ones as flimsy as that Soldier Heartless you fought."

"What do you mean?" Philia questioned. "Heartless are creatures of darkness, and are very difficult to combat by normal means." Aerith explained, "People like us are able to fight them because we are strong. Normal people wouldn't be able to stand a chance."

"Yeah, but we ain't normal, now are we." Cid stated, "And by the looks of it, you ain't a normal girl, either. You've got some strong fighting skills on ya." "If you want, you can join with us here and help protect the town from the Heartless." Yuffie suggested, "I'm sure Leon doesn't have any objections on it."

Everyone turned to Leon, who closed his eyes, not acknowledging the fact that all the eyes on him was slightly hesitating. Finally, he opened them to Philia. "Well, you have skill, but you are still rusty around the edges." he stated bluntly, "You should probably train yourself to be better adaptive with that weapon if you want to survive here."

"I guess I should try what I can." Philia stated, putting her dagger away, "Although, I wonder how many more Heartless there are out there for us to fight." "Let me put it this way; what you fought was merely a grain of sand on a beach." Leon compared, "There are others out there, a lot more dangerous than the ones you have fought so far. And the only ones who are able to put an end to all of this, and save the worlds that were lost, are those who are chosen to wield the Keyblade."

"The…Keyblade?" Philia asked. "Right. The weapon is the only one able to fight the Heartless like any normal being." Aerith explained, "It is able to lock or unlock any kind of Keyhole, even the ones to every world." "Wow…" Philia gasped, then she thought, _A weapon that can unlock any lock? Sounds like a really handy tool, especially to a treasure hunter._

"The Heartless fear the Keyblade, and it is because of this that they will pursue those who wield it, in order to destroy them." Leon followed. "They fight those who wield the weapon they fear?" Philia summed up, "Sounds pretty ironic. Do you guys know anyone who can wield them?" The four people around her shook their heads.

"The Keyblade chooses its' master." Leon stated, "No one we know is able to use it." "But we still have hope." Aerith added, "We believe that somewhere, in one of those worlds, the Keyblade will choose someone who will stop the Heartless from consuming our worlds, and bring us home."

Philia looked down, thinking about everything they had told her. The Keyblade did seem powerful, and it sounded like it was a weapon that will save not only this world, but all others. One question did come to mind, and she spoke it out loud.

"Do you think the Keyblade can unlock my memories, again?" she asked them. "Maybe." Yuffie answered, "But we don't know if that is possible." "Why don't you try time?" Cid asked, "Waitin' for the Keyblade to come and help you remember ain't gonna do anything for your health."

"You've already learned how to fight. You've also learned what you can do with that dagger." Leon pointed out, "Maybe you should learn how to deal with those while you wait for your memories."

Philia stood up and turn to Leon. "Can you help with that?" she asked, "I feel like you might be a strong person who knows how to wield a sword." "Getting trained by Leon? That sounds unhealthy." Cid joked.

Leon shot a glare at him, then turned to Philia again. "I can teach you a few tricks, so long as you keep up." he answered, "But it is not gonna come without some painful training." "Doesn't matter." Philia retorted, "If I have to face the Heartless like what I just did before, I have to be prepared."

"Okay, then." Leon stated, shouldering his Gunblade as he walked to the door, "Let's get to work, and see if you have more skills than what you think." Philia nodded, and followed Leon out of the door, leaving Aerith, Yuffie and Cid behind.

"You sure she'll be okay with Leon?" Yuffie asked, "She still is trying to find out who she is, and that guy will knock her about until she can't tell if left is really right." "I'm sure she'll be fine." Aerith stated, "Leon knows when to draw the line, especially since what happened to our home."

"Yep, that girl is something else." Cid stated, walking around the counter, "Better go check up on those three ducklings. Odds are they found something to fool around with, and are runnin' late again." As Cid passed her, Aerith said, "Well, I think meeting her was no coincidence. I think something is about to change, soon."

"Maybe if she brought along a Keyblade wielder, we might be set to go." Cid stated. "Maybe one will come along soon." Yuffie guessed, "And I bet she might just get along with whoever that person is."

As Leon led Philia through the doors into the Third District, the young girl looked up at the stars, thinking to herself. _What a night this has been._ she wondered, _I have no memories of my past, I am dealing with going to a different world, and I even have to fight these Heartless. It seems like such an impossible adventure to be on…_

She looked at Leon, who turned back to her, waiting. _Well, I guess I should start making this one possible._ she finished, smiling a bit, _I will remember myself, and help fight against the Heartless._ With that thought in mind, she walked alongside Leon as they entered into the Third District, with the doors behind them closed shut.

* * *

 **Destiny Islands**

It was daylight, and Sora was doing his usual thing; laying down along the beach shore. He opened his eyes slowly, seeing the bright sun and the clouds over him. He had just undergone the strangest dream he had ever had, with shining platforms and tests, along with monsters that were covered in darkness, including one that was suppose to be a reflection of him.

Sora tilted his head to the waters, seeing the sky reaching out endlessly before him. He yawned as he rested his head on the sand again, only to notice Kairi hovering over him, looking down directly into his eyes. The abrupt appearance shocked Sora awake, and he turned onto his knees as Kairi laughed at him. "Gimme a break, Kairi." Sora pouted.

"Sora, you lazy bum." Kairi scolded him, "I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here." "No! This huge, black THING swallowed me up!" Sora explained his dream, "I couldn't breathe, I couldn't—."

Before he could finish his sentence, Sora was whacked over the head by Kairi. "Are you still dreaming?" Kairi asked. "It wasn't a dream!" Sora denied, but then he looked down as he slowly asked, "Or was it? I don't know. What was that place? So bizarre…" He felt that there was more to the dream than what he thought, and that it was suppose to mean something. He couldn't think of an answer.

"Yeah, sure." Kairi mumbled as he passed Sora, drawing closer to the shore. Sora looked to her, with a question formed from the dream. "Say, Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up."

"I've told you before, I don't remember." Kairi answered, not showing her face to Sora. "Nothing at all?" Sora asked. Kairi's expression faltered a bit, but she replied, "Nothing."  
"You ever want to go back?" Sora asked. "Hmm…" Kairi started, "Well, I'm happy here." "Really…" Sora responded, not sure if that was a sound answer. "But you know…" Kairi continued, "I wouldn't mind going to see it."

"I'd like to see it, too." Sora agreed, shifting himself as he looked out at the sea with Kairi, "Along with any other worlds out there! I want to see 'em all!" "So what are we waiting for?" Kairi asked, turning to Sora with a grin on her face.

They looked to each other for a couple seconds before a voice behind them called out, "Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?" The two turned to see their best friend, Riku, standing there with a thick log under one arm.

"So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft." He stated as he tossed the log over to Sora, causing him to topple over as he caught it. Kairi giggled as Riku walked up to her. "And you're just as lazy as he is!" he accused her. "So you noticed." Kairi responded with an innocent grin, "Okay, we'll finish it together. I'll race you!"

Riku sat right next to Sora as he pushed the log to the side. "What, are you kidding?" Riku asked, both he and Sora looking at her in disbelief. Kairi ignored this as she called out, "Ready? Go!" The two boys couldn't resist the challenge, and they quickly got to their feet as they raced along the shore, with Kairi racing behind.

The trio raced on ahead, preparing for a journey with the raft they were building. Little did they know just how much of a challenge they were about face. The same went for Philia, along with three characters in a world beyond. With what was to come, it would put all of their hearts to the test.

 **Sword Art Kingdom**  
 **Heart's Origin**

* * *

 **Opening**

 _(Cue 'Digimon Adventure Tri Opening 1 - Butterfly TV Size', music on Youtube)_

 **(0:00-0:19)** As the viewer zoom in on a grassy field, a red shape passes the viewer, revealing Sora in the distance. A light blue shape passes, revealing Philia, then a green one reveals Goofy, and a dark blue one reveals Donald. The viewer zooms in and circles around to see the four of them standing there, looking off into the distance. The image becomes blurry as the title appears in front of them.

 **(0:19-0:30)** Sora was asleep on the shore of the Destiny Islands, but was awoken by a voice behind him. He turned to see Kairi and Riku standing there by the raft, the latter looking somewhat annoyed by Sora's laziness while Kairi waved him over to help. Sora got to his feet and raced to his friends. The screen fades to white.

 **(0:31-0:41)** The viewer zoom out of the white in Philia's eyes as she practices with her Sword Breaker, with Leon and Yuffie watching her. Her blade glowing yellow-green as she thrusted her blade forward in a Dagger Skill. She holds her position for a moment as Yuffie applauds her, then Philia lowers her weapon, looking up at the sky with a sad expression. The viewer looks into the sky, seeing the stars as they shined for a seconds, before quickly disappearing one by one.

 **(0:41-0:46)** The viewer zooms out as Maleficent comes into view, standing at the table with the shadowy silhouettes of her villainous allies, and Riku at her side.

 **(0:47-0:55)** The scene changes to six of the seven Princesses of Heart, their eyes closed as if they were asleep. Kairi appears in the middle of it, her arms crossed in front of her as she opens her eyes and her body scatters into lights, replacing her position with Sora as he stood there beside Philia, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy on Donald's head as the viewer shifts the angle to behind them, seeing the hundreds of Heartless in front of them.

 **(0:56-1:06)** The four begin to display to the viewers their combat skills against the Heartless one at a time, starting with Sora, then Philia, then Goofy, then finally Donald, who rains down lightning onto the Heartless before the heroes charge in to continue fighting.

 **(1:07-1:18)** The viewer passes the Heartless to see Riku standing at the end, reaching out to Sora as to invite him to the darkness, with the shadowy image of Heartless Ansem mimicking his movements. Philia clears the path for Sora as he races forward, reaching out to his friend. The view shifts to Sora's view, his hand reaching out to Riku as he and the darkness fade away into the light.

 **(1:19-1:32)** The screen shines an image of King Mickey holding the Keyblade as Donald and Goofy looking in from the sides. The view shifts to a dark image of Aincrad as it crumbles away, with Philia's face looking to the viewer. The view zooms out as Sora pats Philia's shoulder, causing her to look and smile at Sora as he grinned back. The view zooms back even further to show quartet and Jiminy standing there, smiling at the viewers as they stood on the same hill as before, before the view shifts back to the sky again, with the flower petals flying by once again.

* * *

 **Well, there you have it! The first episode of the series. Just dipping my toes into the waters with this first episode. However, I do think it has potential. I will do another episode later on, so be patient. As always, leave a reply, tell your friends, and be patient for the next episode.**

* * *

 **Next time on SAK:HO:**

 **Philia: I wonder if there are other skills I am capable of?**

 **Aerith: You don't have to figure this out alone, Philia.**

 **Sora: I can't wait to see the world with Riku and Kairi!**

 **Kairi: Let's go out, just the two of us!**

 **Donald: Goofy! The King has gone missing!**

 **Sora: What's happened to the islands?!**

 **Philia: What are the qualities a Keyblade wielder must have?**

 **Next Time on 'Sword Art Kingdom: Heart's Origin'**

 **Three Worlds! Journey to Come Together!**

 **Philia & Sora: Let's go chart our next adventure!**


	2. Three Worlds! Journey to Come Together!

**Here is the second episode. How will the heroes unite? Read and enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Starting Line**

 **Traverse Town: Cid's Shop**

"Eh? There are so many kinds of Heartless." Philia noticed, flipping through a book, seeing the Heartless within the pages, along with the detailed explanations of them. "True, but not all of them prefer to live in one kind of area." Aerith responded, "That's why the Heartless differ depending on the world." "I got it." Philia understood.

 _(Philia speaking) My name is Philia, and that's pretty much you would get out of me. I don't have any memories of my past, and that's what I'm trying to search for. All that I know is my name, and the fact that I came from a different world than this one. I also learned how to fight with my dagger, and utilize Skills that I had in the other world I came from._

 _It's been a whole day since I first woken up in Traverse Town. So far, the only things I have been doing were training with Leon, Yuffie, and learning about the Heartless from Aerith. I've already become friends with them, and they accepted me as one of their own. They've taken care of me, despite the fact that I have no memories. Still, I hope to find out who I am, eventually._

"The Heartless come in many forms." Philia noticed, moving onto the section containing some of the more larger and deadlier Heartless, "And there are different ways of taking care of each. Should I really memorize all of them?" "If you are going to fight against the Heartless, then it's best to know them all as best as you can."

"Well, I'll start off with the ones I have fought, so far." Philia stated, flipping back closer to the beginning, "So far, I have faced Shadows, Soldiers, and Large Bodies. Are there any others in this town I should know about?"

"There are a few others, like the Red Nocturnes and Blue Rhapsodies." Aerith explained, "Those Heartless are part of a certain set of Heartless, each of which specializes in a type of element magic."

"Magic?" Philia questioned, looking at Aerith quizzically. "Right." she answered, "I don't know if you had that kind of magic in the world you came from, but it is useful. Maybe I can teach you how to use magic." "Really?" Philia asked, "You can teach me that?" "Sure, if you are interested." Aerith answered. Philia nodded eagerly. If she could learn some magic, it might help her out in the long run.

"Darn this blasted thing!" Cid growled. Philia and Aerith looked to him as he was fumbling around with a small treasure box. "I find a treasure chest, but I ain't have any way of opening it up!" he grimaced, shaking the box vigorously.

"Maybe you should wait for Yuffie to come here." Aerith suggested, "She might be able to picklock that chest open." Philia looked at the treasure chest as Cid answered, "No way! She would just run off with whatever is in it! I'd rather wait for a Keyblade wielder to show up."

After a few seconds of spacing out, Philia fumbled in her pockets, and pulled out a pair of thin metal pieces. _These look like they might be able to pick locks._ she thought to herself, _I wonder…_

"Excuse me, Cid?" she started, "Can I give that chest a go?" Aerith and Cid both looked to her. "Sure, if you want." he answered, causing Philia to move around the counter to the chest, "But these locks are difficult. I don't how you might be able to open it.

Philia used the two metal pieces, and entered them into the keyhole. It took a few seconds of fumbling, but there was a click, and the chest opened up, revealing a few blue-colored stones within.

"How…did you do that?!" Cid asked, both he and Aerith amazed. "I don't know." Philia answered, holding up the metal pieces, "I noticed these in my pocket, and guessed that they were used to pick locks. I guess it was like fighting, and I just knew how to do it."

"That's impressive, Philia." Aerith said, "You did it like it was nothing." "And you got us some Mythril Shards." Cid added, pulling out the stones, "These will be great for synthesizing stuff."

"Wait, synthesizing?" Philia questioned. "Sure. I'm sure you've seen that pale creature with the big nose and red ball antenna, right?" Cid asked. Philia did recall seeing the same little creature wandering around the town at times. "That's a Moogle. They specialize in creating items from materials." Aerith explained, "Those Mythril Shards are materials used to synthesizing stuff, creating accessories, healing items and such."

"Oh, I see." Philia understood, digging into her pockets and pulling out some stones she gained from fighting Heartless. Some were like the Mythril Shards, only black, and some were pale green.

"These were dropped by some Heartless I fought. I was wondering if they were valuable in any way." she stated. "Those are Lucid and Spirit Shards you've got there." Cid stated, seeing the stuff she had, "None of it can make you anything, so far. But hey, it's a start."

"Actually, I can think of something we can make." Aerith stated, digging into her own pocket, and pulling out a green gem that was shaped like a shield. "If we put a couple of your Spirit Shards with my Bright Shard, you can actually make an accessory." "Really?" Philia asked. "Sure, let's try it!" Aerith stated, and they head out of the shop.

They found the Moogle nearby, and he led them to his small shop. "I can make many kinds of items, so long as you have the materials, kupo." the Moogle explained.

"We'd like for you to make an accessory from these." Aerith instructed, and she gave the Moogle two Spirit Shards from Philia and her own Bright Shard. "Coming right up, kupo!" the creature answered, and it gathered the materials, bringing them into the back of the shop. It took a little while, during which they saw some sort of light show happening in the shop. Afterwards, he came back with a bangle.

"Here you are; one Energy Bangle, kupo!" the Moogle declared, placing the item in front of them. "Take it." Aerith told Philia. "You sure?" she asked. "Consider it a friendship bracelet, between you and me." Aerith answered, smiling pleasantly. Philia smiled back, and she took the bangle, placing it on her wrist.

Immediately, she felt the bangle feeding her some energy. "What the?" Philia gasped, "I feel weird, like I am capable of enduring more." "The Energy Bangle is not only an accessory, but it provides a bit of defense, and increases your stamina." Aerith explained, "There are all kinds of accessories out there, and there are just as many materials to find and gather."

Philia looked at the bangle around her arm, amazed. Whatever kind of world she came to, she was certainly amazed by the powers it was able to give her.

"Hey, Philia!" called out a voice from behind them. Yuffie was on top of a roof, waving down at the girls. "Leon is trying to find you." she informed Philia, "He wants to spar with you again!"

"Okay!" Philia called back, then she sighed, "I hope he actually goes easy on me. He was pretty tough on me last time." Aerith giggled at this comment as she responded, "Don't worry. Leon sees great expectations from you. Plus, he wants to help you remember who you are."

"Yeah, well if he hits me over the head again, I might just lose more memories." Philia responded amusingly, and she wandered off to the Third District to search for Leon.

* * *

 **Opening**

 _(Cue 'Digimon Adventure Tri Opening 1 - Butterfly TV Size', music on Youtube)_

 **(0:00-0:19)** As the viewer zoom in on a grassy field, a red shape passes the viewer, revealing Sora in the distance. A light blue shape passes, revealing Philia, then a green one reveals Goofy, and a dark blue one reveals Donald. The viewer zooms in and circles around to see the four of them standing there, looking off into the distance. The image becomes blurry as the title appears in front of them.

 **(0:19-0:30)** Sora was asleep on the shore of the Destiny Islands, but was awoken by a voice behind him. He turned to see Kairi and Riku standing there by the raft, the latter looking somewhat annoyed by Sora's laziness while Kairi waved him over to help. Sora got to his feet and raced to his friends. The screen fades to white.

 **(0:31-0:41)** The viewer zoom out of the white in Philia's eyes as she practices with her Sword Breaker, with Leon and Yuffie watching her. Her blade glowing yellow-green as she thrusted her blade forward in a Dagger Skill. She holds her position for a moment as Yuffie applauds her, then Philia lowers her weapon, looking up at the sky with a sad expression. The viewer looks into the sky, seeing the stars as they shined for a seconds, before quickly disappearing one by one.

 **(0:41-0:46)** The viewer zooms out as Maleficent comes into view, standing at the table with the shadowy silhouettes of her villainous allies, and Riku at her side.

 **(0:47-0:55)** The scene changes to six of the seven Princesses of Heart, their eyes closed as if they were asleep. Kairi appears in the middle of it, her arms crossed in front of her as she opens her eyes and her body scatters into lights, replacing her position with Sora as he stood there beside Philia, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy on Donald's head as the viewer shifts the angle to behind them, seeing the hundreds of Heartless in front of them.

 **(0:56-1:06)** The four begin to display to the viewers their combat skills against the Heartless one at a time, starting with Sora, then Philia, then Goofy, then finally Donald, who rains down lightning onto the Heartless before the heroes charge in to continue fighting.

 **(1:07-1:18)** The viewer passes the Heartless to see Riku standing at the end, reaching out to Sora as to invite him to the darkness, with the shadowy image of Heartless Ansem mimicking his movements. Philia clears the path for Sora as he races forward, reaching out to his friend. The view shifts to Sora's view, his hand reaching out to Riku as he and the darkness fade away into the light.

 **(1:19-1:32)** The screen shines an image of King Mickey holding the Keyblade as Donald and Goofy looking in from the sides. The view shifts to a dark image of Aincrad as it crumbles away, with Philia's face looking to the viewer. The view zooms out as Sora pats Philia's shoulder, causing her to look and smile at Sora as he grinned back. The view zooms back even further to show quartet and Jiminy standing there, smiling at the viewers as they stood on the same hill as before, before the view shifts back to the sky again, with the flower petals flying by once again.

* * *

 **Destiny Islands: Day 1, Sunset**

Sora, Riku and Kairi were all at their favorite spot on the island; at the crooked Paopu fruit tree on the separate part of the island. Sora and Kairi were sitting on top of the sideways trunk, while Riku was on his feet, leaning back on the trunk. All three of them watched the sunset in the distance, talking with one another about building the raft.

"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora asked, turning to Riku. "Could be." his friend answered, "We'll never know by staying here."

"But how far could a raft take us?" Sora asked, angling himself around Kairi. "Who knows?" Riku answered, waving off Sora's question, "If we have to, we'll think of something else."

"So, suppose you get to another world." Kairi told Riku, "Hehe, what would you do there?"

"Hmm…Well, I haven't really though about it." he answered, "It's just…I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds…Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" "I don't know." Sora answered, laying his back on the trunk.

"Exactly." Riku confirmed his point, taking a few steps closer to the shore, "That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing It's the same old stuff. So let's go." Sora and Kairi looked to Riku with concerned looks, thinking about everything he said.

"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi asked him. "Thanks to you." Riku answered, turning to Kairi, "If you hadn't come here, I'd probably would've never thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks." "You're welcome." Kairi responded in a half-hearted tone.

Sora looked off into the distant sun, wondering. He thought about everything that had happened. He remembered he and Riku meeting Kairi roughly nine years ago, sometime after an amazing meteor shower.

At first, she was just the 'new girl at the mayor's house' at the island town. However, as time went on, they realized two things about Kairi. One, she was adopted by the mayor, and two, she wasn't a native to the Destiny Islands. Considering no one ever really comes from outside the islands, Sora and Riku believed that she actually came from another world.

When their theories were confirmed, their imaginations went wild. They quickly became friends with Kairi, and started devising ways to get off the islands to find new worlds. And so, all these years later, they were nearing their goal.

Sora was curious about the worlds outside their own, but not like Riku. He was more obsessed to find new worlds. He kept talking about a rumor he heard among the islanders. It was about a boy who left the islands for good. Riku claimed that boy must've left to get stronger, and guessed he must've seen plenty of worlds, getting stronger with every world he went to. So, Riku wanted to gain that strength, to protect the things that mattered.

So, he dared Sora to get stronger with him, and when they left, they could get even stronger, together. In honor of his friend, and in something a woman told him a long time ago, he started to train with Riku. The two would also spar with their friends from the mainlands, Tidus, Wakka and Selphie. Riku's skills with a sword rose exponentially, to the point that he could take on those three guys at once, and beat them. Sora was good, and was eventually able to take all three of them on at once, but he was still no where near Riku's level. But that didn't stop him from trying.

It was time for the three of them to leave, so Kairi walked off, followed by Sora, and then Riku. As Sora crossed the wooden bridge, Riku called out to him. He turned just in time to catch the star-shaped fruit from the tree they were just on.

"You wanted one, didn't you?" Riku asked. "A paopu fruit…" Sora noticed, seeing the fruit in his hands.

"If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined." Riku stated, walking past Sora, "They'll remain a part of each other's lives, no matter what. C'mon, I know you want to try it."

"What are you talking…" Sora started, hearing Riku laugh as he took off into a run. Sora looked to the fruit, then tossed it aside as he raced after Riku, wondering if he was just fooling with him. Little did he know that what he said was more true than either one could imagine.

* * *

 **Disney Castle**

Along the corridors of the castle, the wizard, Donald Duck, waddled along to the King's throne room, passing some of the broomsticks as they went to cleaning another part of the castle. It was a normal routine for Donald to greet the king in the morning, and requesting what tasks were assigned to him today.

He reached the extremely tall doors to the throne room, cleared his throat, and wrapped his knuckle on the door. A hole the size of a normal-sized door swung open, and Donald entered in. The room was long, and the throne was in the far back of the room, which made it hard for anyone to see who was actually at the throne.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." Donald called out as he waddled closer to the throne, "It's nice to see you this morn…" He stopped his sentence abruptly when he saw that the throne was empty. He was shocked, wondering where the king was at.

Just then, from behind the chair, the royal hound, Pluto, popped his head out, holding a letter in his hands. Donald wondered why Pluto was here, and not in the study room. He walked up to the dog, taking the letter from his mouth, and opening up.

He examined the letter, reading every word in it. The more he read, the more surprised he was at what it said. When he finished, he was downright petrified. _This can't be happening!_ he thought in shock, _I have to tell someone about this! I have to tell Goofy!_ Squawking in a frenzy, Donald raced out of the throne room, heading to the gardens, where he knew Goofy would be at.

He was right. Goofy, the captain of the guard, was laying on his back, fast asleep, without a care in the world. Donald raced up to Goofy, squawking, "Wake up, Goofy, wake up! This is serious!" Donald was only responded by a snore from Goofy. Irritated, he used his magic, unleashing a lightning bolt from the sky onto Goofy. The shock did the trick, and Goofy woke up, but he was slightly dazed. He rubbed his eyes, and noticed Donald next to him.

"Hey there, Donald. G'mornin'." Goofy greeted him. "We've got a problem, Goofy!" Donald warned him, then he whispered, "But don't tell anyone…"

"Queen Minnie?" Goofy supposedly asked. "Not even the queen." Donald answered sternly. "Daisy?" Goofy questioned. "NOOO!" Donald squawked, "It's top secret!"

"Uh, G'mornin', ladies." Goofy greeted someone behind him. Donald froze, realizing what Goofy was really noticing. He slowly turned behind him, seeing none other than Queen Minnie and a slightly irritated Daisy standing behind him. "What were ya sayin', Donald?" Goofy asked the nervous duck. Donald merely chuckled, not sure what to say first in this situation.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Set Off For Adventure**

 **Destiny Islands: Secret Place**

Sora started looking inside the caves behind the waterfalls. It was his and Riku's little hideaway in the island, where they would draw pictures and talk with one another and stuff. Kairi would also join the two in this little hideaway, as well. However, right now, he was searching for provisions for the trip.

 _I swore there was some mushrooms growing in here somewhere._ he thought to himself, _I'm sure it's edible…I think._ He examined the cave, then discovered them behind some rock. He plucked it out, putting it away in a satchel that he used to gather the food. A slight bit of shaking from the satchel told him that one of the fishes he caught was still alive. _Stay put, ya fish!_ he thought to himself, stabilizing the satchel and tying it up.

He looked to the rock wall, seeing the pictures that he and Kairi scratched on the wall when they were young; their own faces. Kairi was better at making Sora's head than he was at making Kairi's.

He then thought back to what Riku said about the paopu fruit. If he were to share that fruit with Kairi, their destinies would be intertwined. However, he was too embarrassed to asked Kairi to do that. He liked her, but not enough to tell her. _I wish I could tell her how I feel._ Sora thought to himself, disgruntled.

He looked at the pictures, then had an idea. He sad down, grabbed a rock, and began etching on the wall. It took him a few minutes, but he finished what he was trying to make; a long arm extending from Sora to Kairi, holding a paopu fruit to him. _There_. he thought, _Now my honest feelings will always be shown here. Let's hope Riku doesn't get it._

Just then, he felt a presence behind him. He turned around, noticing a shadowy figure in the cave with him. "Who's there?" Sora demanded. "I've come to see the door to this world." the mysterious figure answered. Sora was confused at this. The door to this world? What did that mean?

"This world has been connected." the figure continued. "Wh-What are you talking about?" Sora stammered. "Tied to the darkness…soon to be completely eclipsed." the figure finished, ignoring Sora's words.

"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this." Sora said angrily. Then something struck him from the man's words, and he asked, "Where did you come from?" "You do not yet know what lies beyond the door." the man told Sora.

These words confirmed what Sora guessed about the man. "So you're from another world!" he claimed. "There is so very much to learn." the figure told Sora, "You understand so little."

"Oh, yeah? Well, you'll see!" said a determined Sora, "I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!" "A meaningless effort." the man responded lazily, "One who knows nothing can understand nothing."

 _What does he mean by that?_ Sora wondered, _Wait…is he calling me dumb?!_ He turned to the mysterious door in the secret room. It was always locked, and there was no way of opening it. His parents always told him that this door was forbidden by anyone to open. If it was, a great darkness would seep through and cover the world.

He thought all of that was completely bogus, but ever since Kairi came to this world, he thought maybe there was something true to that. Neither he, Riku or Kairi ever dared to open that door.

He turned around to question the figure even more, only to find the man gone, without a trace or sound. _Just who was that guy?_ Sora thought to himself. _Well, whatever. I will go see the outside worlds. Then, I'll show him I'll learn something!_ Saddling the satchel, he raced out of the cavern, searching for more provisions for the trip on the raft.

* * *

 **Traverse Town: 2nd District**

"Please evacuate!" Aerith called to a pair of townspeople. She waved them away as Leon and Philia were ready to take on some Heartless that appeared. It contained a bunch of Shadows, a couple Soldiers, and a Large Body. The Large Bodies were Heartless who's names entitled their figure; large and overweight. It did make them move about slowly compared to its' cohorts, but it was stronger, and the belly was able to bounce back any physical attacks.

"Let's split them up." Leon told Philia, "You make sure you get the Large Body to follow you." "Why do I have to have that thing follow me?" Philia questioned. "Because it's your next test." Leon answered, "You should try defeating it and other Heartless on your own."

With that, Leon took off, distracting the Soldiers and a few of the Shadow Heartless, leaving Philia with the Large Body and six Shadows. "Well, here goes…" she muttered, ready to fight.

The Shadows jumped towards Philia, ready to strike her. Philia countered every single one of them, defeating some, while others were shoved to the side. The Large Body thumped its' belly, and charged at Philia, but she leapt to one side.

She then readied her dagger as she concentrated. _I hope this new magic Aerith taught me works…_ she prayed, and she thrust her dagger forward, shouting, " _Fire!_ " she unleashed a ball of fire from the tip of her blade at the Heartless, burning it and making it topple over. "It worked!" she said happily. "Good one!" Aerith called out to her from a distance. Philia gave her a thumbs up in approval. All that work yesterday was worth it.

Just then, Philia got struck from behind by two claws from Shadows. She toppled to the ground face-first, but she tumbled around onto her back, seeing them about to jump her. She sliced them quickly, defeating them at once.

The moment the dark vapors of the defeated Heartless vanished, the Large Body reappeared, ready to body slam the fallen Philia. She flipped onto her feet and tried avoiding it, but the shockwave of the attack sent her flying. She tumbled a bit, but quickly recovered herself as she came to a halt. "I can't let this thing beat me!" Philia told herself, "I have to overcome it with everything I know!"

She charged at the Heartless as it turned to her, flailing its' arms to take a swing at her. Leon finished off his horde of Heartless, and turned to see Philia leap over the Large Body with great agility. She landed right behind him, glaring as she turned to face it, the blade of her dagger glowing light-blue with energy as she did so. Aerith and Leon were both amazed, not seeing this color before. Philia unleashed two horizontal slashes in quick succession, causing a great amount of damage, and defeating the Heartless.

As soon as it was clear, Leon came up to Philia as she looked down at her dagger, pondering on the move she just used. "That move; What was it?" Leon questioned, "The blade of your dagger glowed just like it did with that Armor Pierce move before. Does this mean you learned a new Dagger Skill?"

"I think so…" Philia answered, looking at the blade, "Give me a sec, and let me figure this out." As Aerith joined the two, Philia concentrated, hoping for some part of her to remember what move that was. Finally, she remembered.

"Side Bite." she said, "That's the name of the Dagger Skill. It's still a minor move compared to other Dagger Skills." "Still, you should be proud." Aerith stated, "Not only are you able to use the magic spell I taught you, but you learned another one of your Dagger Skills!" Leon nodded in agreement.

Philia couldn't help but feel proud for herself. She had barely been in this world for a few days, and already, she was quickly improving on beating the Heartless. She looked up into the sky, seeing the stars up above. She then noticed a star twinkle away and disappear. Seeing it made her sad.

"Another world taken." she muttered, drawing the attention of the two next to her, "Sooner or later, they'll invade this world, and it might be too much to handle."

"We can't give up." Leon told Philia, drawing her attention, "If we stop now, we won't have a chance against them. The Heartless will be stopped, and we'll just have to wait for the wielder of the Keyblade to do that."

"But when WILL this person show up?" Philia asked, "I want to know what kind of person this Keyblade wielder is, and hope that person has what it takes to defeat the Heartless." "Trust me. The Keyblade will choose the right successor." Aerith assured her, "Let's hope that person is ready to the task."

* * *

 **Destiny Islands: Day 2, Sunset**

While sitting at the docks, Sora sneezed hard, drawing the attention of Kairi next to him. "You okay, Sora?" she asked. "Yeah. Don't know where that come from." Sora answered, rubbing his nose.

"Hehe. Maybe someone is talking about you." she giggled. "You really believe in that stuff." Sora questioned, "No way. Must've been some sea salt or somethin'."

The two looked out into the sunset, thinking. "We finally have everything ready for our trip!" Kairi cheered. "Yeah. Now we can leave, and find where you come from." Sora responded, "I bet you can't wait to find where you come from, don't you. And I'm sure Riku can't wait to see it, too."

"You know, Riku has changed." Kairi noticed. "What do you mean?" Sora questioned. "Well…" Kairi started, but she didn't know how to explain it to Sora. In her eyes, Riku ambitions were growing stronger, but it didn't feel right to her. She didn't want to say anything to Sora that would upset his friendship with him.

"You okay?" Sora asked her. Kairi pondered for a second, and started, "Sora, let's take the raft an go, just the two of us!" Sora was shocked at these words. Kairi wanted to go with Sora alone, without Riku? What gave her that idea?

Before he could question this goal, Kairi giggled, "Just kidding!" Sora felt like Kairi was just fooling around with him this afternoon, and he was downright confused. "What's gotten into you?" he asked, "You're the one that's changed, Kairi." "Maybe…" Kairi agreed.

There was silence between the two for a while, then Kairi said, "You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I can always come back here. Right?" She looked to Sora, who had the answer instantly. "Of course!" he responded.

"That's good." Kairi sighed in relief, then she added, "Sora, don't ever change." Sora looked confused at these words as Kairi stood up on her feet. "I just can't wait." she stated, "Once we set sail, it'll be great." Sora looked to Kairi, then to the sunset beyond them. The two felt their connection to one another would always stay together, firm and strong, no matter what.

* * *

 **Disney Castle: Mickey's Study**

 _"Donald. Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'. Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. And that beans disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I've gotta go check into it._

 _There's someone with a 'key'; the key to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find him, and stick with him. Got it? We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction._

 _P.S. -Would ya apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal."_

Donald finished reading the letter out loud to Goofy, Daisy and Minnie, and looked up to them. Pluto was asleep in his dog bed.

"Oh, dear! What could this mean?" Daisy questioned in a worried manner. "It means we'll just have to trust the king." Queen Minnie answered, although she sounded a little worried and sad that Mickey left in such a manner.

"Gawrsh, I sure hope he's all right." Goofy muttered. "Your Highness, don't worry." Donald assured Queen Minnie, placing a feathery hand on his heart, "We'll find the king and this 'key'."

"Thank you, both of you." Queen Minnie answered. Donald then turned to Daisy as he started, "Daisy, can you take care of the…" "Of course." Daisy interrupted Donald, "You be careful, now, both of you." Donald nodded in reassurance.

"Oh, and to chronicle your travels, he will accompany you." Minnie informed the two, waving a hand to Mickey's desk. Donald examined the desk, not sure who she was waving to, until someone hopped into appearance, getting the attention of Donald and Goofy. It was a bug of some kind, wearing a top hat, a black blazer with a red vest underneath, a yellow ascot, tan pants, yellow shoes, white gloves, and he carried a red umbrella.

"Over here!" he called out to the two, "Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket, at your service." He took off his top hat, bowing to the two. He then hopped over, landing on the bridge of Donald's magician hat. Donald did not look amused at where the bug placed himself.

"We hope for your safe return." Minnie told Donald and Jiminy, "Please help the king." Donald placed his hand on his heart assuringly, looking to Minnie, then Daisy, and then Goofy, who stood next to the ladies, saluting Donald in departure. "You're coming, too!" Donald squawked angrily, grabbing Goofy by the arm and pulling him out the door.

They went back to the gardens of the castle, and entered a secret door that led down a spiraling staircase to the lower levels of the castle. As they walked, Jiminy shifted onto Goofy's helmet, and started to explain about how he came to be at Disney Castle.

"Gawrsh, Jiminy, your world disappeared, too?" Goofy asked. "It was terrible. We were scattered." Jiminy moaned, "And as far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to this castle."

"Goofy?" Donald warned his friend. "Oh, right…" Goofy remembered, "I gotcha. Ya mean while we're in other worlds, we can't let on where we're from, huh? We gotta protect the world border." "Order!" Donald corrected Goofy's last word. "Right. World 'order'." Goofy chuckled. Donald sighed at the dimness of his friend.

As they reached the bottom floor, Goofy stated, "I guess we'll need new duds when we get there, huh?" Donald nodded in agreement, and they entered the Gummi mechanical sounds of gears grinding and objects moving about rang in their ears as they entered in. Up in the control tower, Chip and Dale were preparing for the crew's arrival. At the platform, the Gummi Ship, the Kingdom, was prepped and ready to go.

Donald reached the speaker to the control tower, and spoke into it, "Hello up there? Donald Duck to launch crew! Anytime you're ready!" One of the chipmunk engineers saluted in response as the other chipmunk pulled a lever.

As Jiminy hopped into Goofy's pocket, two large hands came out, grabbing Donald and Goofy by the tail ends, and carrying them into the Gummi Ship. Then out of nowhere, Pluto appeared at the station, bounding to the ship and leaping into it. With everyone prepared, the platform underneath the ship rose and spun itself to an opening door, shaped like the king's head.

Donald looked down at the station below to see Queen Minnie and Daisy watching them leave. Donald winked and gave a thumbs up to Daisy, reassuring her. He then started up the Gummi ship's rockets, ready to launch forward. At his command, he pointed forward, and shouted, "Blast-off!"

Lights suddenly appeared in front, forming an arrow pointing down, and the Gummi Ship suddenly dropped through the ground below. Donald and Goofy yelled in panic as they fell the long way's down. The Gummi Ship came out of the far side of the world, restarting its' engines, and taking off into the empty space beyond, starting on their quest to search for the king, and the 'key'.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Dark Tide of Destiny Island**

 **Destiny Islands: Day 2, Nighttime**

In one of the homes at the mainlands, Sora was resting on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep. There were so many things that happened that day, from the race he and Riku had to share a paopu fruit with Kairi, to the conversation he and Kairi had before, to the mysterious figure he met in the cave. Not to mention that tomorrow was when they were about to take off to find Kairi's home. Sora was too anxious and concern about so many things.

He looked at one of his hanging ornaments on the ceiling, thinking about Kairi's final words. _I can't help but feel concern about Kairi._ he thought, _Despite what she said, she did seem a bit…off._ He then thought about how she joked about how the two of them should set off without Riku. He then sat up abruptly, blushing a bit. _Wait, is she…choosing me over Riku?_ he thought, _Could it be that she…_ Sora shook his head, waving off the theory. _No way, that can't be right._ he thought, _Could it?_

He looked to the window, and saw something that startled him. Dark clouds and lightning were starting to form on the islands where the raft was. "A storm?" he spoke up, seeing it, then he gasped, "Oh, no! The raft!" He was fortunate that he was still fully dressed. Grabbing his wooden sword, he took off out of the window, sneaking out of the house.

Sora got to his dingy, and paddled over to the island as quickly as he could. _If the raft drifts away, then that'll be the end of the trip!_ he thought, _I can't let that happen!_ It took him a little longer than usual since the waves were kicking up from the storm.

He looked up at the clouds, seeing something that didn't look right. A swirling ball of dark red clouds started to form in the center of the storm, hovering over the island. "What's that?" Sora asked, seeing the swirling cloud.

He docked his dingy to the pier, and hopped out of it. There, he noticed two more boats, and they were familiar to him. "Riku's boat! And Kairi's!" Sora recognized, looking into the island, "I wonder if they're around."

As he was about to head to the shoreline, Sora saw something through the darkness. A few pairs of yellow eyes appearing aways from him. As his eyes adjusted, he saw that the eyes came from creatures with black bodies, which looked like a cross between a human and an insect.

 _No way!_ Sora thought in horror, _These things…I recognize them from that nightmare I had!_ The creatures came towards Sora as he pulled out his wooden sword, ready to fend them off. The creatures bounded at him, but Sora smacked them away with his weapon. The attack didn't destroy them, but it opened a path for him into the island. He raced forward, seeing more and more of the creatures form from the ground, attempting to attack Sora. He did his best to keep them away from him, calling out to Riku and Kairi as he did so.

He then noticed someone by the crooked paopu tree. It was Riku, and his back was turned to Sora, facing the waters. "Riku!" he shouted, and he made his way up to the wooden bridge, racing towards his friend.

"Where's Kairi?!" Sora demanded when he was within ear shot, "I thought she was with you!" Riku didn't respond to this. Instead, he said calmly, "The door has opened…" "What?" Sora questioned, not sure what Riku meant. He turned to face Sora, who noticed something was different in Riku's eyes. They were different. Darker.

"The door has opened, Sora!" Riku called out, "Now we can go to the outside world!" "What are you talking about?!" Sora demanded, "We've gotta find Kairi!"

"Kairi's coming with us!" Riku sharply answered, silencing Sora, "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fears stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

Riku reached a hand out to Sora, beckoning him to join him. "Come with me." he told his hesitant friend. "Riku?" Sora muttered. Something was definitely wrong with Riku. This wasn't like him at all. Sure, he was obsessed with seeing the outside world, but this was now even beyond that. He wanted Sora and Kairi to join in his obsessed nature.

Just then, darkness started to encircle Riku's feat, forming dark vapors to rise up around him. "Riku!" Sora called out, racing to his friend. As he got close, the darkness started to spread around his feet. Desperate to break free, Sora reached out to Riku, hoping to grab ahold of his hand. _This isn't right, Riku!_ Sora thought to himself, _I don't know why, but this isn't the right way to reach the outside world! No…darkness is not the way to go!_ Sora reached as far as he could to Riku, who was stock still in his position, not even phased as the darkness enveloped the two of him.

Sora could see nothing but darkness, but he desperately wanted to find a way out. Suddenly, he noticed a glimmer of light, which started to shine brighter and brighter. He reached out to it, grasping it in his hands.

Suddenly, he reappeared back on the islands again, only now, Riku was gone, and he held something in front of him. It looked like an oversized key, with a silver shaft and the crown-shaped teeth, a golden, rounded hilt, and a blue stripe between it and the shaft. At the back of the hilt, there was a silver chain, with a crown medallion that looked like the one around his neck.

He looked at the weapon, surprised that it suddenly appeared in his hands. _What the heck is this?!_ Sora thought to himself, looking about for Riku. He then started to hear a voice, similar to the one he heard in his dream. _"Keyblade…Keyblade…"_ the voice kept calling. _Keyblade?_ Sora thought, _Is that what this is called?_

He then turned to see more of the monsters he fended off before form around him. Using the weapon he just obtained, he swung at the monsters, and saw that they disappeared with every strike. _Hey, it's actually working well against these things!_ Sora thought to himself in amazement.

He looked back at where Riku was at before, then looked into the island. _Riku said something about a 'door' opening._ he thought to himself, _But what door? Maybe…that door I saw in the secret place?_ Sora raced to the cave, searching for answers and for Kairi.

After taking out a few more of the monsters, he reached the secret place. He noticed a double door that was not there before, but it looked exactly like one of the doors in his dream. It opened up for him, and Sora entered through. There, he noticed someone at the door in the back of the cave. It was Kairi, facing the closed door.

"Kairi!" Sora called out. Kairi turned to him, and Sora noticed the blank, half-sleepy look on her face, as if she was in a trance. "Sora…" she muttered, seeing her friend.

Sora thought for a second on what was wrong with her. Then the door behind her swung open, unleashing a burst of dark wind into the room. Sora shielded himself, then saw Kairi being pulled along with the darkness. Sora reached out with both hands to save her. But as he wrapped his arms around her, she disappeared. Vanished as if she was never there. Confused, Sora looked ahead at the dark wind, and suddenly found himself getting pulled along with the gust, carrying him out of the cave. He blacked out for a second as he was pulled along.

Next thing he knew, he toppled onto the sandy ground outside. He got onto his hands and knees, and he looked about in horror. The sea had vanished, replaced by an ocean of darkness. Practically most of the island vanished, too, with the only remaining part being the piece he was on right now.

"Whoa!" he gasped, looking about, then looking into the sky. The same swirling ball of clouds was now closer than before. His gaze then followed the arc, and was horrified. Right behind him was a massive humanoid being of darkness that he fought in his nightmare before, now standing behind him. It had a muscular body, wild hair on top of his head, and a heart-shaped hole in his chest.

 _(Cue KH1.5 OST 'Destiny's Force')_

"Wha-wha-wha-what?!" Sora cried out in panic, seeing the monster's face above him. He looked about, seeing there was no where to go. He looked to the Keyblade in his hands, then up at the monster. "I don't know what's goin' on here…" Sora started, getting into his fighting stance, "…but I don't think backin' off from this fight is an option!"

Sora charged forward, seeing the monster raise a fist. It slammed it down where Sora was at, but he avoided the attack barely. Sora saw a dark pool of energy form on the ground, followed by more of the smaller creatures he fought before. Sora used his Keyblade to knock them out, then he started attacking the hand of the giant beast, hoping to damage it. The attack didn't do much to phase the monster, who slowly relinquished his hand from the ground, standing straight back up again.

It then reared back a bit, and a ball of darkness formed in the hole of his body. "That doesn't look good!" Sora spoke up in panic. He was right. The monster started shooting energy balls from the hole in its' chest, which started to home in on Sora's positions. Sora rolled and dodged the attacks as best as he could, the final attack barely grazing the back of his feet.

He toppled forward as the attack finished, then he noticed the monster straightening itself again. _This is not gonna work!_ Sora thought to himself, _How do I defeat something that monstrous?!_ He then remembered something from a book he written about combat. _When facing an opponent with superior physical bulk, attacks should be struck at the face._ Sora recalled, _But it's so high up there! How in the heck do I do I get there?!_

Sora noticed the monster rear back its' fist again, ready to slam it down at Sora. It was then that Sora was hit with inspiration. He stood there, determined to follow through with the plan in his mind.

The monster slammed down its' fist at Sora, but he avoided the strike by jumping backwards, then he struck the hand again with everything he got, stopping the dark vapors seeping from it. He then bounded up onto the hand, running up the arm.

"Hey, ugly!" Sora shouted, making a leap to the beast's eyes, "Your face is wide open!" Sora raised the Keyblade above him, and with all the strength he could muster, slammed the tip at the head.

The attack dazed the monster as Sora fell back to the ground again, seeing his handiwork. "Yes!" Sora cheered, "One more hit like that should…" But before he could finish his sentence, the ground shook violently. Sora toppled to the ground, seeing cracks form along the ground.

He then felt himself being pulled up into the dark orb high above. Desperate, he grabbed a plank of wood stuck into the ground, and held on. The monster was still dazed by the attack, and was carried into the dark orb, where it disappeared.

Sora desperately tried to hold on, but he could feel his grip slipping as the suction above him was too strong. His hand slipped, and he cried out in panic as he flew into the vortex above, disappearing from view.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Gathering at Traverse Town**

 **Philia's Side**

Yuffie was racing on the rooftops, then she stopped, turning to the nearly exhausted girl behind her. "C'mon, Philia! Don't tell me you're giving up, now!" she called to her. Philia desperately reached Yuffie, doubling over as she caught her breath. "You…haven't been…constantly fightin'…those Heartless…like me." she panted, then she toppled onto her butt, trying to regain herself.

"Can't we just take a break, please?" Philia asked longingly. "Okay." she answered, understanding Philia's condition, "You have been pushing yourself a lot. I guess we can call it a day, or night. I can't tell in this world." Philia sighed in relief, glad to get a break.

"Philia! Yuffie!" Aerith's voice called out from below. The two looked down to see her waving up at them. "We have big news!" she informed them, "Come down here so I don't have to yell!" Yuffie and Philia did as they were told, and descended down to Aerith.

"What's up?" Yuffie asked. "We've got word from Cid." Aerith explained, "A Gummi Ship arrived to this world. We think it might be the king's men." "They're here?!" Yuffie asked.

"Who's this king?" Philia asked. "King Mickey is from another world." Aerith answered, "It was thanks to him that we learned about the Keyblade." "Yeah. And before he left, he told us that he would send his most trusted friends to come and find the Keyblade wielder." Yuffie explained, "Though, it still sucks that we haven't found that person."

As Aerith and Yuffie discussed what the best plan of action was, Philia turned to the sky once more. She had continuously done it before, expecting to see more stars in the sky disappearing, thanks to the Heartless. However, she noticed something else. It looked like a falling star, leaving a glittering trail as it fell. Philia noticed its' trajectory, and saw that it was landing in the First District. Neither Aerith and Yuffie noticed.

 _What the heck was that?_ Philia thought to herself, _Was it a falling star? No…I could've sworn I saw someone in that light. Maybe I should investigate._

"Okay, then I'll go tell Leon about it." Yuffie told Aerith, "Why don't you and Philia go join up with the king's men, and inform them of what we know so far." "Okay, then." Aerith answered, "Philia, come with me, and…" She turned to where Philia was, but she disappeared. "Philia?" Aerith asked, looking about.

"There she goes!" Yuffie noticed, seeing Philia open the doors to enter into the First District. She entered through, and the doors closed behind her. The two ladies looked at each other, wondering what was up.

* * *

 **Donald & Goofy's Side**  
The two partners and Pluto had just arrived into the First District, now fully clothed in their new set of garments. Donald was in a blue uniform with a light blue cape, and a blue beret. Goofy was in a green turtleneck with a dark vest, yellow pants, metal-toed shoes, and he had on a stove-top hat with goggles around it.

Goofy stopped and looked into the sky above. Donald stopped and looked to him as he pointed up. "Look, a star's goin' out!" Goofy noticed as the two watched a star disappear before their eyes above. "Come on, let's hurry!" Donald told Goofy, who nodded in response, and they wandered through the district.

As Pluto started to sniff about, Donald looked frustrated as he asked, "Where's that key…" "Hey, ya know, maybe we ought to go find Leon." Goofy suggested.

As they walked up the steps, Goofy saw Pluto go down an alleyway, while Donald went another direction. "Uh, Donald." he called out, "Ya know, I betcha that…" "Aw, what do you know, you big palooka?" Donald silenced Goofy with the question. "What do I know?" Goofy pondered, looking at the alleyway, "Hmm… Come on, Pluto." He then turned and raced after Donald.

Pluto ignored the order. Instead, he sniffed through the alleyway, and discovered a passed out Sora behind some barrels, laying down with his back to the wall. Pluto sniffed the boy, then licked his face.

Sora woke up slightly, but he was incredibly groggy. He looked around dazedly, and saw Pluto sitting there, panting. "What a dream…" Sora moaned, and he was about to fall back asleep when Pluto pounced on him, making him fully awake. "This isn't a dream!" Sora realized, seeing Pluto fully in front of him.

He got to his feet, looking about. "Where am I?" he asked himself, "Oh, boy…" He then looked to Pluto and asked, "Do you know where we are?" The dog raised an ear, as if he heard someone, and he bounded away from Sora. "Hey!" Sora called out, racing after him out of the alleyway. When he got into view of the First District, he stopped and looked about. "This is totally weird…" he muttered, then he realized, "I'm in another world!"

While Sora walked about to investigate the place, he was unknowingly being watched over by someone that saw him leave the alleyway from above. It was Philia, hanging over the railings, then moving to one corner of Cid's shop to watch the boy.

From Philia's view, she saw a boy that was slightly younger than her, with spiky brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a red, sleeveless jumpsuit with baggy bottoms, a black, white and blue over jacket, a sagged dark blue belt with a silver buckle around his waist, large yellow and black shoes, and white gloves with a blue stripe and a round metal piece on the back of each hand. He also had a chain link hanging around one side of his pants, with crowns as part of the chain, and a chained necklace with a silver crown pendant hanging from it.

 _So this boy was the falling star?_ Philia questioned in her mind, _Where is he from? Maybe a survivor from the Heartless, like me?_ She followed the boy quietly as he started investigating the place, talking to people as he went about. He entered into the Item Shop, introducing himself to Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

Philia noticed how he started collecting some Postcards that were about the area, and remembered hearing about the mailbox special, 'Send 10 Postcards, get items in response'. Sora managed to find a couple in the District, and after discovering this, placed the two into the mailbox, gaining a folded Cottage set, and a Mythril Shard. _That's what I get for not looking about._ Philia thought in a disgruntled manner, _I really should be better at this. Those are treasures that I should seek out._

Suddenly, Philia's head started to throb. She gasped as she grasped ahold of her head, falling to her knees. The pain was so much, she could barely see or think. Unbeknownst to her, Sora had made his way to Cid's shop, and he entered in without noticing Philia's condition.

Inside the shop, Sora looked around, wondering what this place was. "Hey, there." Cid greeted, "How can I…" He then noticed Sora's appearance, and said, "Aw, it's only a kid." "I'm not a kid!" Sora retorted angrily, "And the name's Sora!"

"Okay, okay, simmer down." Cid responded, "So why the long face, Sora? You lost or somethin'?" "No! …Well, maybe." Sora answered, second-guessing himself, "Where are we?" Cid looked questionably at Sora, confused at what he meant.

Cid got the rundown of how Sora got to be there, and Cid responded in explaining what the world was called. "Traverse Town…" Sora muttered, "So, gramps, is this really another world?" "Don't call me gramps! The name's Cid!" Cid retorted, "Anyway, I ain't sure what you're talkin' about, but this sure ain't your island."

"Hmm… Guess I'd better start looking for Riku and Kairi." Sora decided. "Well, good luck with whatever it is you're doing." Cid told Sora, "If you ever run into trouble, you come to me. I'll look out for you." "Thanks!" Sora replied, and he took off out the door. "First Philia, now that kid, Sora." Cid muttered, "I swear to you, these youth's are just fallin' all over the place into this town."

While Sora was in the shop, Philia was struggling with the pain in her head. "Hey, Philia!" called out a voice. It was Yuffie, leaping down from the rooftop, kneeling right next to Philia with a worried expression. "Get ahold of yourself!" Yuffie called to Philia, shaking her shoulder. As if her touch was magic, Philia's pain died away, and she looked up and about, seeing Yuffie next to her.

"Man, you looked like you were in serious pain." Yuffie stated, "You okay?" "Y-Yeah…" Philia answered, finding the strength to get to her feet again, "What happened to me?" "That's what I want to know." Yuffie answered, "You looked like you were having a headache there. Does that mean you remember somethin'?"

Philia closed her eyes, thinking. She was right. There were things about herself that she started to regain. "It's only a little bit, but…" she started, "It's more of WHAT I was before coming here. My occupation, I mean."

"So what were you?" Yuffie asked in a concern manner. "I…was a treasure hunter." Philia explained, "I was clearing areas that were undiscovered, or had rare treasures in it."

"So, you're a treasure hunter, eh?" Yuffie asked, "Well, that explains a lot. Being a ninja and a thief, I guess you could say we fall along the same line of work." "I don't steal from others… At least, I don't remember doing stuff like that." Philia retorted.

"But at least you remember a little more about yourself. That's something you should be proud of!" Yuffie stated proudly, "Now, back to why I chased after you. Why did you run off like that?" "I saw something fall from the sky, but it turned out to be…" Philia started to explain, but she was silenced by the sound of Cid's door opening. "Quick, hide!" she told Yuffie, and they ran.

Sora came out, and barely saw the two girls leave. "Who was that?" he asked, running around the corner to the back of Cid's shop, but the people he saw were gone. What he didn't know was that they scrambled their way up to the rooftops again, looking down at Sora.

"Who's the kid?" Yuffie asked, "I've never seen him in town before." "He was what fell out of the sky." Philia explained, watching the boy, "He's just like me. Although, he seems to remember who he is. I'm watching him just to see if he is a friend or foe. So far, no hostile attempts."

"I gotcha. Just bein' cautious." Yuffie stated, "Well, he doesn't seem like a bad kid. Let's follow him. It'll be fun." Philia rolled her eyes, and saw the boy run to the door, going to the Second District. Yuffie led Philia over the rooftops to follow him.

When they got to the other side, they saw a man being pursued by Heartless. He toppled over, and as he flipped around, a Heartless came in, striking him and stealing his heart. Sora witnessed this before him, and watched as the heart transformed into a Soldier Heartless. He raced forward, and found himself surrounded by Shadow Heartless. "It's those creatures from the island!" Sora gasped, and he produced the weapon he gained from the island into his hands.

Yuffie was shocked as Philia looked at the weapon carefully. "A key-shaped weapon?" she noticed, "Could that be…" "It's the Keyblade!" Yuffie stated, "We found the wielder!" Philia looked to Yuffie in amazement, then back at the boy, who begun fighting off the Heartless.

Suddenly, she saw a couple Soldier Heartless appear from behind the boy, but he was too busy facing the ones in front. Philia bounded onto her feet, ready to leap. "What are you doing?" Yuffie asked. "Well, someone has to back him up!" Philia answered, and she leapt off the roof to the boy.

Sora had just taken care of the creatures, then heard some clanking behind him. He turned and was introduced to a spin-kick by one of the armored creatures, making him topple back. As he regained himself, he saw the monsters close in. Just then, a girl appeared in between him and the monsters. She was dressed in an unusual blue, black and brown battle garments, and she had ruffled dandelion. She carried a dagger in her right hand, which looked like a short sword with a saw-like blade on one side.

She twirled her dagger, and made a horizontal slash that tossed the Heartless back. With incredible agility, she bounded forward, slashing repeatedly at one of the airborne Soldiers, damaging numerous amount of times before it was defeated. She then turned to the other Soldier, who had just recovered itself. She charged up her weapon, making it glow green-yellow, and unleashed an 'Armor Pierce' Dagger Skill, destroying the Heartless and its' armor in one go.

With the Heartless gone, Philia turned to Sora, who was amazed at the display of combat. "You doing okay?" she asked, walking up to him, "Those Heartless can be a bit dangerous to face on your own." She reached out to Sora, who took her hand. "Thanks." he responded as he was pulled to his feet, "You saved me there." "But I couldn't save that other guy in time." Philia stated, looking at the spot where the man was before.

There was a pause between the two, then Philia turned back to Sora, gazing at his weapon. "So that's the Keyblade everyone was talking about, huh?" she questioned, "How did you get it?" "I don't know." Sora answered, "It just…appeared."

Philia then walked around the boy, examining him closer. "When I heard about how picky the Keyblade is about choosing a wielder, I was expecting someone more…matured." she stated. "What do you mean by that?!" Sora asked, slightly wounded by the words.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." she defended herself, "Let's start this over. My name is Philia. And you are?" "I'm Sora." the boy answered. "Nice to meet you, Sora." Philia stated, "C'mon, I'm sure there are a few more Heartless about. Let's clean them up before we get back to the First District." Philia led Sora on around the Second District.

Up above, Yuffie watched the two walk away, slightly amused. "All of a sudden, Philia's become the more experienced one, here." she stated, "I should tell Leon about this. I'll leave these two alone to get to know one another." With that, Yuffie ran off to find Leon.

Philia wasn't kidding about the Heartless. There were plenty more Shadows and Soldier Heartless still about the area. Fortunately, Sora and Philia had each other's backs as they fought them off. They also found items around, like potions and even Postcards to add to the mailbox.

Philia found Sora's fighting style unusual. He mainly held his Keyblade in a two-handed, reverse grip, which showed a lack of proper training with a sword. Despite this, he was very good at fighting, and was able to defeat Heartless as he fought.

At one point, he was fighting off a Heartless while others were surrounding him. All of a sudden, Sora's body gathered energy, and as if by instinct, Sora unleashed a dome of energy around him, which not only knocked the Heartless back, but stunned them. With several quick strikes, Sora finished off the Heartless affected by the attack.

"What the heck was that move?" Philia asked. "I don't know." Sora answered, "But I think I remember reading about that technique in a book Riku gave me back home. If I remember right, they called that move a 'Stun Impact', or something." "Well, whatever it was, it sure came in handy." Philia stated, "Let's keep it up!"

Sora, meanwhile, was amazed at Philia's skills. From her fighting with a short sword, to the skills she was unleashing, to even shooting fireballs from the tip of her dagger. There was no doubt this girl was experienced in fighting.

When the coast was cleared, the two came together. "You've got skills, Sora." Philia complimented, "Color me impressed." "Thanks. You're pretty awesome, yourself." Sora replied, "Do you live here?" "Not really. I came to this world a couple days ago." Philia explained, "Although, I don't remember about anything before that."

"You don't remember anything?" Sora asked, surprised. "Nope. Just my name, and nothing else." Philia answered, "I've slowly regained some things, like my fighting skills and stuff, but I still don't know anything else about myself."

"Sorry to hear that." Sora apologized. "Nah, it's nothing you should worry about." Philia answered, "C'mon. Let's head back to the First District. I'm sure the Heartless are cleared there." With that, Sora and Philia made their way back through the large doors to the First District.

No sooner did they arrive there, the Shadow Heartless suddenly appeared in front of them. "I thought you said they were cleared from here!" Sora reminded Philia. "I did!" she answered, readying her dagger, "I don't know what the heck is going on!"

They started taking down the Heartless as they raced to the front of Cid's shop. "Hurry, get inside!" Philia told Sora as they entered into the shop. "Welcome…" Cid started, then he saw the two, "Oh, it's you again. And Philia, what's up?"

"Heartless are appearing in the First District." Philia warned him as Sora caught his breath, "Do you have any idea why?" "Heartless in the First District? I don't remember ever gettin' this close to my shop." Cid stated with a look of concern, "Well, why don't you take care of it? You have been training to take care of 'em."

"Why? Can't you?" Sora asked. "I'm already having my hands full with other things." Cid stated, and he pulled out a newspaper and begun reading it, "B'sides, I ain't the fightin' type, like I use to be." Philia huffed at Cid's lazy demeanor. Just what had he been doing all this time before her arrival?

Just then, the two noticed that the streets were silent outside. Looking at one another, they slowly crept the door open, looking about. No sign of Heartless. "The coast is clear." Sora stated, "Let's keep going." "Keep your weapon ready." Philia warned him as they stepped out, looking about, their blades at the ready.

Just as they reached the stairs, a voice called out, "They'll come at you out of nowhere." The two turned to see Leon step out from around Cid's shop. "Who are you?" Sora asked. "Leon!" Philia noticed.

"The Heartless will keep on coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade." Leon told Sora, pointing at his weapon at hand. Philia wondered what he meant, then she quickly recalled what Leon said the first time they explained the Keyblade, about how it attracted the Heartless.

"But why? Why would it choose a kid like you?" Leon questioned, looking from Sora to Philia, "Did you get an answer?" Philia looked taken aback at the question, but she shook her head in answer. "Hey, what's that suppose to mean?" Sora demanded, looking at the two with him. He wasn't following what they were saying.

"Never mind, then." Leon stated, stepping towards Sora and Philia, "Now, let's see that Keyblade." "What?" Sora realized, stepping away from Philia and Leon, "There's no way you're getting this!" He turned to Philia and demanded, "Was this what you were trying to do? Were you trying to take away this thing from me?" "N-No! I would never…" Philia answered quickly as Leon stopped right next to her.

"All right then. Have it your way." Leon sighed, and he pulled out his gunblade. Philia looked between Leon and Sora, and felt that she should back off from the fight. So she ran down the steps, watching the two from above as they were about to engage. _This does not bode well for Sora._ she thought to herself.

 _(Cue KH1.5 OST 'Night of Fate')_

Sora charged in first, ready to take Leon out. Leon pointed his gunblade at Sora, shooting a large fireball at him point-blank. Sora didn't expect the attack, and was sent flying backwards, singed. He toppled onto his back, moaning as he got back up. "Is this really the best you got?" Leon sassed. "Just watch!" Sora spat, and he flipped onto his feet, charging in at Leon.

Leon huffed, slashing at Sora. He blocked with his Keyblade, struggled to hold his defense against Leon. Sora then disengaged his defense, ducked underneath the blade's swing, and slashed at Leon repeatedly, knocking him away from Sora. "How's that?!" Sora barked, curling a fist forward. Leon brushed off his clothes, then glared back at Sora, irritated at his cockiness. Sora hesitated at his glare, but he buckled himself down for the fight, and charged forward for the next assault.

Philia watched as the two guys went at each other, amazed at Sora's tenacity, and his ability to quickly adapt to Leon. Despite this, it was clear that in regards to strength, long-ranged and skill, Leon was in a league way above Sora. However, he was holding back on Sora, a bit. It was clear he wanted to see what Sora was made of. So far, Philia was impressed.

They moved down the steps from Cid's shop, and were battling in the middle of the center square of the First District. Sora was clearly wearing down, while Leon still had some energy left in him. "This is clearly one sided." Philia muttered, "Sora, don't you know how strong he is?"

Apparently, Sora didn't hear Philia's words from a distance. However, he did feel as if Leon was holding back on him. But that didn't stop him from trying. "I won't give up this fight, no matter what." Sora told himself, "I'll give him a taste of his own medicine."

Sora charged in at Leon, ready to strike at him. Leon pointed his gun forward, and was about to fire another flame orb from it. _I need to get in quickly!_ Sora thought to himself, mustering energy into his feet to move faster. He saw Leon charge up the attack, and he bounded forward. The moment he unleashed the fireball, Sora raised his Keyblade, and struck the fireball just as it came out of the barrel. Philia gasped as Leon looked surprised at the reckless attack. The fireball came right back at the gunblade, and exploded in front of the boys' faces.

Philia shielded herself from the explosion, then unfurled her arm to see Sora and Leon backed away from one another. Sora was panting heavily, and was clearly singed by the attack, but both were in their fighting stances. Suddenly, Leon stumbled and fell on one knee. "No way…I can lose…" Leon moaned, feeling the battle take his tole on him. "I don't believe it…!" Philia gasped, amazed at how much Sora did to him. She was now more impressed at Sora's skills than before, especially his tenacity.

Sora straightened himself up, stumbling a bit. "Now, you're…gonna…you're gonna…" Sora stammered, trying to hold on. Suddenly, he fell backwards, and went unconscious. The battle took its' tole on Sora, too, only he couldn't go on any more.

"Sora!" Philia cried, racing past Leon as he got on his feet again, regaining his strength. Philia knelt down to Sora's side, feeling his neck. She felt his pulse, and knew he was okay. "He's alive…" she sighed, "But he's overly-exhausted. All this fighting today really did a number on his stamina."

"Aw, you're slipping, Leon." said Yuffie, coming down the steps to meet the group. "I went easy on him." Leon replied, confirming Philia's notice, "But it looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse."

"What do you mean?" Philia asked, turning to the two. "The fact that this boy has a Keyblade, someone inexperienced in fighting and saving the worlds from the Heartless, does not bode well for what is to come." Leon stated. Philia looked from the two to the unconscious Sora, worried. In the harsh reality of it all, he was right. Sora doesn't look like he has any experience with this stuff. He doesn't even know how to use magic, and the fact that he was able to fend off Leon like this was only because he went easy on him.

"Well, what should we do with him?" Yuffie asked Leon. "Take him back to the hotel." Leon answered, "We'll give him some answers, and explanations on what is to come." Leon walked over and picked up Sora's body.

He reached down to pick up the Keyblade, but Philia took it instead. "What are you…?" he started. "I think I'll hold onto the weapon for now." Philia answered, looking down at the weapon in her hands. Despite the size and strength of it, it was just as light as her dagger. With the Keyblade at hand, she followed Yuffie and Leon back to the hotels, waiting for Sora to wake up.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Ansem & the Key**

 **Donald & Goofy's Side:**  
Along the Alleyways of the hotel, the king's men kept searching about for any signs of people in the vicinity that fit Leon's description. However, there was nobody there. It almost seemed deserted.

"Hey, Mister Leon! Where are you?!" Goofy hollered, not receiving any reply in response. "This city is way too big." Donald moaned, "Come on! We'd better hurry up and find him!"

"Gawrsh, there's nobody here." Goofy pointed out with a shutter, "Sure is spooky!" "Aw, phooey." Donald huffed, "I'm not scared." However the moment he said this, he received a tap on his shoulder that caused him to leap into the air, landing on Goofy's back.

"Excuse me. Did the king send you?" asked a woman's voice. Donald and Goofy turned to see Aerith standing there, smiling slightly.

"Who are you?" Donald asked. "Don't worry." she answered, "I know your king. He sent you to find us, didn't he?" Donald and Goofy looked at each other, then nodded in unison.

"Come. I need to tell you a few things." Aerith told the two. "I'll lead you to my room." With that, Aerith led Donald and Goofy into her room.

* * *

 **Sora's Side: Green Room**

Sora was completely out of it for a while. He started to regain consciousness again, and he moaned. "Come on, lazy bum." said a familiar voice, "Wake up." Sora opened his eyes, then he sat up, shaking his head. He turned to see none other than Kairi standing right next to the bed he was in.

"You okay?" Kairi asked. "I guess…" Sora muttered, nodding to Kairi. "Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade." Kairi explained to Sora, "But it's your heart they really want, because you wield the Keyblade."

Sora wasn't sure what to make of anything Kairi was telling him, what with him being out of it. Still, the one thing was on his mind, and said it out loud, "I'm so glad that you're okay, Kairi."

"Kairi? Who are you talking about?" Kairi asked, her voice suddenly changing, "I'm the great ninja Yuffie." "Huh?" Sora said confused, and he rubbed his eyes, waking himself up a bit, then he blinked, and saw the girl, Yuffie, standing in front of him, looking at his face carefully. He looked about the small hotel room. It was elegent, and the walls were mainly that of a green color. Leon was leaning against the wall next to the door. Philia was walking up from behind Yuffie, a worried look coming across her face.

"I think you might've overdone it, Squall." Yuffie stated, turning to Leon. "Squall?" Philia questioned, wondering if that was a nickname. "That's Leon." the man responded with a glare. Philia knew the glare meant she shouldn't pry into what the name meant.

Sora then noticed his weapon in Philia's hand. "The Keyblade…" Sora muttered, seeing the weapon. "Oh, yeah. I picked it up for you." Philia responded, looking down at the weapon in her hand, "Leon and Yuffie told me to keep it away from you, so as to not attract the Heartless." "It turns out that's how they were tracking you." Yuffie explained. "It was the only way to conceal your heart from them." Leon added, "But it won't work for long."

Leon walked over and took the Keyblade out of Philia's hand as he continued, "Still hard to believe that you of all people are the chosen one." He whipped the Keyblade to one side, and Philia was shocked to see it disappear in a flash of light, only to reappear in the surprised Sora's hands once again. "How…?" she started. "That's how the Keyblade works." Yuffie answered simply, "Only can be wield by those it chooses."

"Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers." Leon sighed, walking up to Sora, who glared up at him. The battle against him still weighed on his mind, and so did everything he had said up to now. "Why don't you start making sense!" he ordered, "What's going on here?" Leon looked from Sora to Philia, knowing that some parts were gonna be new to her as well. Philia looked back, wondering what he might say to Sora and her.

* * *

 **Red Room**

In the room next to the others, Aerith invited Donald and Goofy inside to explain everything to them. Aerith sat down on the bed, while the other two stood in front of her.

"Okay, you know there are many other worlds out there besides your castle and this town, right?" she asked. "Yeah." Donald answered. "But they're supposed to be a secret." Goofy added, covering his mouth as if muffling the fact.

"They've been secret because they've never been connected…until now." Aerith explained, "When the Heartless came, everything changed." She closed her eyes, reminded of what the monsters had done.

* * *

 **Green Room**

"The Heartless?" Sora questioned. "Those creatures that attacked you and I in the Second District, remember?" Philia reminded him, sitting on the opposite side of Yuffie, between Sora. "Those without hearts." Leon explained.

"The darkness in people's hearts; that's what attracts them." Yuffie explained. "And there is darkness within every heart." Leon finished. "I'm still learning about them myself." Philia told Sora, "The ones that we've fought so far? They're not the only kind. There are countless other kinds of Heartless out there, in multiple worlds. Some are small-fries like the ones we fought, and others are much more powerful than the average one."

Sora had to contemplate all of this. The Heartless were attracted to not only those with darkness in their hearts, but also to the Keyblade, to which he carried. And the fact that there are other multiple worlds with their own set of Heartless was shocking, too.

"Hey, have you heard of someone named Ansem?" Yuffie asked Sora. "Ansem?" Sora and Philia echoed, both hearing the name for the first time.

* * *

 **Red Room**

"Ansem?" Goofy questioned. "He was studying the Heartless." Aerith explained, "He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report."

"Gawrsh, uh, can we see it?" Goofy asked. "It's pages are scattered everywhere." Aerith answered sadly. "Scattered?" Donald echoed in surprise. "To many worlds." Aerith responded.

"Oh, then maybe the king went to find 'em." Goofy believed. Donald nodded in agreement. "Yes. Those were my thoughts exactly." Aerith answered.

"We gotta find him quick!" Goofy suggested hurriedly. "Wait!" Donald squawked, "First, we need that 'key'!" "That's right. The Keyblade." Aerith responded.

* * *

 **Green Room**

"So, this is the key?" Sora realized, holding his Keyblade aloft. "Exactly!" Yuffie answered him. "The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade." Leon explained, with Philia hearing this a second time, "That's why they'll keep coming after you, no matter what."

"Well, I didn't ask for this." Sora said in a disgruntle manner. He did not like the fact that he basically had a target on his back thanks to this weapon. "The Keyblade chooses its' master. And it chose you." "So tough luck." Leon finished, walking away and leaning his back on the wall.

"Well excuse me if I'm the only one here who will sympathize with Sora's situation." Philia huffed at the two, "Seriously, Aerith is the only other person here who actually cares." "We feel sympathy." Yuffie retorted, "We just know that things like this happen, and there is no way we could've avoided it." Philia didn't think of that as a sound response.

"How did all this happen?" Sora asked, confused, "I remember being in my room…" He thought for a few seconds, then he gasped and jumped onto his feet, "Wait a minute! What happened to my home? My island? Riku! Kairi!"

"You know what? I really don't know." Leon answered, "I have no idea what happened to your home, or Philia's." Sora looked to Philia, who looked down in concern. "I don't even know what my home is." she repeated, "I can't remember anything at all, remember?"

"You remember you're a treasure hunter." Yuffie stated, "You just discovered that about yourself, right?" "Really?" Leon asked, turning to Philia. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I remember the skills behind it." Philia answered, "I mean, I did open that one treasure chest before with the tools I have on me, and I can fight Heartless, but that's all. Nothing else about myself."

"Well, Sora will have it easier opening chests than you." Yuffie stated, looking to Sora, "His Keyblade can unlock any lock, no matter what it is." "Really?" Sora asked, amazed. "Sure! That weapon design isn't just for show." Yuffie answered, "If you find any locked chests or doors, you can just use your Keyblade to open them!" "Woah…" Sora gasped, looking at the Keyblade in amazement.

"Sora, you'd better prepare yourself." Leon told Sora, "The Heartless will come and find you, so prepare for the fight of your life." Everyone looked to Sora, who looked down, thinking. Finally, he answered, "I didn't ask to do any fighting like this, but if it means finding my island again, then I'm ready to go!" Yuffie and Philia both looked happy at Sora's resolve.

"Okay, then." Leon stated, lifting himself off the wall, "Yuffie, let's go join Aerith. She should be there by now with the other visitors." "Visitors?" Philia questioned, "Oh! You mean those men the king sent, right?" Leon nodded in answer.

Suddenly, Philia felt something, and she pulled out her dagger. "Look out!" she called just as a Soldier Heartless popped into existence. "Yuffie, go!" Leon shouted to his comrade just as he pulled out his gunblade. Philia raced to the Red Room door just as Donald reached it on the other side. He got smashed into the wall as Yuffie flung the door open, surprising Aerith.

"Sora, Philia, let's go!" Leon ordered the two, and with one swipe, he sent the Heartless shattering through the window. He leapt out of the balcony outside, followed by Philia and Sora. Goofy opened the door to reveal Donald smashed into the wall, dazed.

In the Alleyway, Leon and Philia took out a pair of Soldier Heartless, with more coming their way, along with the Shadow Heartless. "Don't bother with the small fry." Leon told Sora and Philia, "Find the leader!" He ran past some Heartless, drawing their attention to him as they raced after him.

Sora and Philia stood back to back with one another, surrounded by the Heartless. "Despite what he said, we should at least take out some." Philia told Sora, "The less there are, the better." "Right!" he answered, and the two engaged in combat with the Heartless.

The Soldier kept appearing in the alleyway and on the balconies in the hotel. Sora was good at jumping to reach the balcony and fight them off. Philia was able to get there easier, thanks to Yuffie's training. The Heartless weren't exactly tough, and were great experience. Plus, they manage to find a few things scattered about the area, like synthesizing material, potions and even postcards.

"Hurry! We'd better head to the other Districts to take down more Heartless!" Philia ordered to Sora. "Right behind you!" Sora answered, and the two took off to the Second District, taking on more and more Heartless that appeared.

In the midst of the fighting, they bumped into Aerith as she cleared some Heartless herself. "I heard the news from Leon and Yuffie." she said as she looked to Sora, "So you're the Keyblade's chosen one. You'd best be careful out there." "Don't worry." Sora answered, "I'll take care of myself."

"Where's everyone else?" Philia asked. "Leon and Yuffie are clearing up all the remains in the First District." Aerith answered, "The king's men went to the Third District, but I don't know how long they'll last without support."

"We can help them!" Sora decided, "Where's the Third District?" "I'll show you." Philia answered, "Come on!" She led Sora as they made their way through the back alley to the Third District.

Meanwhile, in the said District, Donald and Goofy slipped down to one of the balconies of one of the houses, looking for any info on where the 'key' might be. Goofy heard pattering feet down below, and he raced to the ledge to see a boy and a girl race out of the alley of the Second District into the central square of the Third. He then heard something, and turned to see a Soldier Heartless appear out of nowhere, ready to fight.

Goofy magically produced his shield as he asked, "Gawrsh, are these the Heartless guys?" Donald produced his wand, not even hesitating at the sight of them. "Let's go get 'em, Goofy!" he declared, and he charged in at the Heartless.

It took about maybe three seconds after this moment before Sora and Philia heard to screaming voices fly from one of the balconies. They turned in time to see the two fly out, falling towards their exact location. "Oh, no!" Philia cried out as she and Sora attempted to run away from the landing spot.

There was a crash as all four people hit the ground. Sora was on the bottom, his Keyblade out in front of him. Philia was right next to him, and Donald Goofy were piled on top of the two. Sora and Philia moaned in pain while Donald and Goofy were seeing stars. "Who landed on top of us?" Sora asked. "Clearly, my next victims." Philia answered, blushing in humiliation from the awkward position the dog of the two put himself in on top of her.

When the stars faded from Donald and Goofy, they looked at who they landed on, and at the weapon in Sora's hands. "The key!" they cried out in unison, beaming with joy. They had finally found it.

Suddenly, the pile of characters heard and felt rumbling, and they looked about. Rectangular pillars started appearing all about, blocking the access ways to the Second and First District. Heartless popped out after they appeared, ready to fight the bearer of the Keyblade.

"Get off!" Philia barked as she shoved Donald and Goofy off of her and Sora. They both got up and readied their weapons, followed by Donald and Goofy, both ready to fight. Regardless of how things started between the four, they knew one thing; In order to beat these Heartless, they needed to quickly work together.

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The Guard Armor Heartless**

The four of them charged in at the multitude of Soldier Heartless, each of them doing their own thing to defeat them. Sora started smacking them away with his Keyblade, while Goofy was providing defensive support for the ones behind him until he was able to take care of them.

Meanwhile, Philia was giving Donald frontal support, since he specialized in magic. He was great with the Fire spell, much more so than Philia. However, he wasn't as experienced in close quarters combat as Philia, so she had to take it from there. It didn't take very long for the crew to defeat the enemies about.

"There, that should do it." Sora sighed, placing his Keyblade away. "But the walls haven't come down." Goofy noticed. Just then, the crew heard clanking from above, and they all turned, looked up, and were shocked.

A set of large armor pieces fell from above, all white, blue, red and yellow. The leggings hit the ground, bounced up to the main armor pieces, and converged underneath it, making the armor float. A pair of gauntlets floated right on either side of the armor. Although not connected, they all fit perfectly as its' feet fell to the ground. The helmet landed on top of the main armor, then hover on its' own, completing the set.

"What the Donald?!" Donald gasped, wide-eyed. "That's a huge Heartless!" Goofy hollared, seeing the Heartless emblem on the chest. "Not again…!" Sora moaned, finding himself against another huge monster.

Philia recognized the look of the Heartless from the book given to her. She remembered reading about the Soldier Heartless, and remembering a higher grade Heartless that controlled them. "If I remember correctly…that's the Guard Armor!" she recalled.

"You know it?" Sora asked, hoping for info. "Yes. It's among some of the stronger Heartless out there." Philia explained, "It's arms and legs are separated from the body, but they all act as one." "That's all you know?" Sora asked. Philia sighed and nodded. It wasn't much, but it was gonna work.

"Watch out!" Goofy hollared, and he blocked a clawed fist that came at the two with his shield, making him skid back. "Let's stop yammerin', and start hammerin'!" Donald squawked angrily, racing forward and smacking the Heartless in the chest, but it did very little to it. It flicked off Donald, making him topple to one side.

"Sora, let's start attacking the arms and legs!" Philia ordered. "Roger that!" Sora answered, and the two raced at the Heartless. The Guard Armor stomped towards the two, creating shockwaves with its' feet. The two split up, avoiding the shockwaves it created. Sora then slashed the legs of the Heartless, while Philia leapt up, slashing at the gauntlet. The Heartless retaliated by spinning its' arms around, slashing at the two and sending them flying.

Philia was up first, still ready to go. The Energy Bangle equipped to her was really helpful. Unfortunately, Sora only had a Protect Chain, and the attack did a number on him. "Sora!" Philia shouted, tossing a potion high into the air, arcing over to Sora. He caught it, and downed the drink, knowing what it was. He felt his stamina replenish. "Thank you!" Sora replied. Donald and Goofy were also ready to go. The four charged in from four different directions, continuing the fight.

The Heartless was a formidable and powerful opponent, utilizing its' size and weight to its' advantage. It was capable of controlling the arms and legs to do separate attacks; the gauntlets either punched forward or spun around its' body like a buzzsaw, and its legs merely stomped about, creating shockwaves. At one point, it even jumped into the air, angling itself towards Sora and Goofy's position, then slamming down towards the spot. Fortunately, the two panicked and scattered before it crushed them.

"Guys, keep hitting the limbs!" Philia shouted, "Forget about the body for a second!" Sora saw Philia slash at the feet, but fail to see the Heartless raise a fist at her. "Watch out!" Sora shouted, racing towards her. Philia looked to Sora, who came right next to her, using the swing of his Keyblade to not only stop the fist, but repel it to the head. It became dazed, and its' body parts collapsed to the ground. "Thanks!" Philia thanks Sora gratefully. "No prob." Sora answered, "Now, let's beat it while it is down!"

Sora, Philia, Donald and Goofy all started targeting the limbs of the Heartless, able to take down both of its' legs and one of its' gauntlets before it got back up again. "Shoot! That was so close!" Sora moaned, seeing it ready to fight.

Philia was right next to Goofy, looking to the shield, then at the position of the remaining gauntlet on the Guard Armor. "Hey, you there." Philia called to Goofy, "Hold the shield above your head. Make sure it is flat." "Uh, okay." Goofy answered.

Philia backed away, making sure there was a straight path between her, Goofy and the Heartless. She then took a run, making her dagger glow yellow-green, then she leapt up, using Goofy's shield as a springboard, getting right to the gauntlet. The Heartless saw her, raising the fist to attack. "Take this!" she shouted, unleashing her Armor Pierce Dagger Skill. It connected with the swung fist, stabbing right through the metal fingers.

The attack from the Heartless caused Philia to go flying into one of the raised walls, crashing into it with enough force to make a crater. "Philia!" Sora shouted, worried. The Guard Armor recoiled its' fist, watching it as it shattered and broke. The limbs were gone.

Philia slid to the ground, moaning in pain. Sora saw that she was alive, and sighed in relief. He then turned at the sound of the other two companions, and saw the Heartless come spinning like a top at the two as they ran. Fueled with anger from the attack done to Philia, along with the protection of his allies, Sora charged in, passing Donald and Goofy as he did so.

He grasped his Keyblade tightly as he attempted to stop the attack with his Keyblade by pressing the side of the blade against the spinning Heartless. Sparks could be seen as he tried to stop it, and his feet were digging into the ground as he was being pushed back by the Heartless. "Sora!" Philia shouted as she, Donald and Goofy witnessed this reckless move. "Back…you…go!" Sora grunted, pushing the Guard Armor with all of his might. Then with one final push, he stopped the spinning Heartless, making it dazed.

Sora roared as he charged in. Donald and Goofy looked at each other, then joined Sora in the attack. Philia got to her feet, and stumbled towards the Heartless. Sora smacked the Heartless, which made him bounce away from it. Donald and Goofy then joined in, hitting the Heartless as hard as he could. They bounced off as Philia leapt in, stabbing the Heartless with all her might. "Sora, now!" she shouted. Sora bounded back into the battle, and did a jumping uppercut slash that struck the Heartless right up the middle.

Everyone backed off as the Heartless shook violently, attempting to hold on. The helmet toppled over, falling to the ground, followed by the rest of the body. Suddenly, what looked like a crystalized heart flew out of the hole in the Guard Armor's body, flying into the sky, then disappearing. With the heart gone, the Heartless' body vanished, disappeared in a sparkling of lights.

"We did it!" Goofy cheered, raising his shield. "Hooray!" Donald followed, hopping up and down in joy. Sora and Philia were less energetic as the two, but they looked at each other, sighing in relief, but smiling at their accomplishment. They had won the fight.

The walls around them suddenly sunk back into the ground, returning the Third District back to normal. Philia then noticed a pair at the stairs. It was Yuffie and Leon, looking down at the four.

"Hey, guys!" Philia called to them, drawing the attention of the other heroes, "How long have you guys been there?" "Since you started the fight against that giant Heartless!" Yuffie answered.

Philia was stupefied, then she demanded, "And you didn't bother to come down and help us?!" "Leon wanted to see you guys work together to defeat that thing!" Yuffie explained, while Leon walked down the steps towards the group, "Not bad taking it down! Leon may not look it, but he's impressed, too!"

Sora looked up at the two descending, then he stepped on something. It looked like a ring, with a spear-shaped emblem on it, although it looked more like a pointing arrow. He picked it up, examining it. "What is this?" he asked, examining the ring, "Did that Heartless drop it?"

He placed it on his finger, and felt a surge of energy come from it into his body. He felt slightly stronger, and his stamina seemed to be better than ever. "Woah!" he gasped, looking at his body, feeling the new power. "That's the Brave Warrior." Leon explained, getting Sora's attention, "It'll give you a stamina boost, as well as a bit of strength."

"So it's like my Energy Bangle." Philia compared. "Yep, but you have the defense, and he has the strength." Philia examined the bangle, then looked at Sora's ring. "These accessories really come in all forms." she stated, chuckling a bit.

* * *

 **Chapter 6: United! Departure and Magic**

When everything was calm, Donald and Goofy explained to Sora that they were looking for the wielder of the 'key', which turned out to be the Keyblade Sora carried. "So, you were looking for me?" he asked, pointing at himself. Donald and Goofy nodded in response. "They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade." Leon explained, with Yuffie and Philia at his side.

"Hey, why don't you come with us?" Goofy suggested, "We can go to other worlds on our vessel." Sora looked down, thinking on the proposal. "I wonder if I could find Riku and Kairi?" he muttered, a solemn look on his face. "Of course." Donald promptly answered, getting Sora to look up, hopefully.

Goofy pulled him aside and asked, "Are you sure?" "Who knows?" Donald replied, pointing to Sora, "But we need him to come with us to help us find the king." "You know we can hear you." Philia called out to them, and she was right.

Leon stepped forward as he stated, "Sora, go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends." Sora looked to Leon, then down, worried about the consequences of the adventure.

Leon turned to Philia and added, "You go with them, too, Philia." "Me?" the girl in question asked, perplexed. "This might be your best chance to discover who you are." Leon explained, "You might even discover where you are from. Plus, they might need all the help they can get." He pointed to the other three when he said 'they'.

Philia looked down, thinking. It's true she thought the Keyblade might unlock her memories, but join these guys to go to other worlds? This was something she wasn't fully prepared for. Still, if it led to discovering more about herself, along with finishing off the Heartless for good, then who was she to not give it a shot?

"Well, I'll go if Sora goes along." Philia decided, turning to Sora, "What do you say?" "Sure, I guess." Sora sighed, not looking excited one bit.

"But you can't come along looking like that. Understand?" Donald told Sora, "No frowning. No sad face. Okay?" "Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like us!" Goofy added.

"What do you mean 'look funny'?" Philia questioned. "Nothing!" Donald squawked, shoving Goofy's face away from him, "This boat runs on happy faces."

"So just look happy?" Philia asked, "Well, okay. How about this?" She gave a happy grin, displaying it to the two. "Good." Donald responded, then everyone looked to Sora. He was too busy thinking about everything that he had to deal with. The Heartless. Riku and Kairi. Finding a king. This seemed a bit much for him. Nevertheless, he wanted to show the others that he was gonna join them.

Donald, Goofy and Philia all watched Sora hopefully. He lowered his face from view, and when he showed it, he gave off the most obviously fake smile ever, with crooked eyes as well. The trio looked at him, dumbfounded by the expression. Sora's face fell a bit, wondering if it was too much.

Donald and Goofy chortled at the sight of his face, while Philia chuckled happily. Since she came to this world, she had not laughed as heartily as she did now. "That's one funny face!" Goofy giggled. "I'll say!" Philia added through her laugh. Sora looked at the three, then began to laugh as well, replacing his former expression with a genuine smile. "Okay, why not? I'll go with you guys." he voiced his approval.

"Donald Duck." the duck introduced himself as he raised a hand. "The name's Goofy." the hound added, placing his hand on Donald's. "Nice to meet you. My name is Philia." the girl greeted, placing her hand onto Goofy's. "I'm Sora." the Keyblade wielder introduced himself, and he placed his hand onto their's. "All for one, and one for all." Goofy declared.

 _(Philia speaking) And that's how we all joined together for the incredible journey ahead. We were gonna face trials, and deal with all kinds of foes, but we felt we could overcome all kinds of battles if we were together. Little did we know that the enemy was already witnessing our actions as we speak…_

* * *

 **Dark Room**

On a table, a green, magical circle revealed the four heroes to a group of people masked in the dark. Although it was not seen, the sense of darkness and evil was clearly felt.  
"That little squirt took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it?" said a male voice, with blue flames slightly showing from his head. "Such is the power of the Keyblade." a second male voice explained, "The child's strength is not his own."

"Why don't we turn him into a Heartless?" a female voice proposed, "Haha! That'll settle things quick enough." "And the brat's friends are the king's lackeys." a third male voice pointed out in a piratey accent, "Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them." "You're no prize yourself." a fourth male voice chortled to the third. "Shut up!" the third voice barked, raising a hook to the other.

"Enough." boomed a second female voice, which had a sense of authority, "The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him? Either way, he could be quite useful." Her face was visible through the darkness. A pale-skinned woman with sharp, yellow eyes, carrying a staff with a green orb. This woman's name was Maleficent.

* * *

 **Traverse Town: Red Room**

Philia had packed up everything she needed into the special pouch given to her by Yuffie, which was able to contain all that she gathered. She placed potions, ethers, materials, and such into the satchel, along with the book about the Heartless, just for something to read about.

"You really are leaving, aren't you?" Aerith asked, sitting at the bed. "I hope to come back and visit again." Philia replied, "But…if I'm going to find out who I am, and where I came from, what better way to do it than to join Sora and those guys."

"Well, I won't stop you." Aerith replied, standing up, "I really wish the best for you, out there. But if you need to place to call home, you are always welcome back here." "Thanks, Aerith." Philia thanked her. The two embraced one another, saying goodbye. The two really did become close to one another during the last few days.

Philia and Aerith exited the hotel, joining up with Sora, Donald and Goofy in the First District. The trio were preparing themselves for the journey, with help from Yuffie and Leon. Once Philia joined them, Leon and Yuffie said their farewells to her.

"Good luck!" Yuffie told the group. "I hope you find your friends." Aerith told Sora. "Look out for each other." Leon told the team, "Keep your spirits up." Sora and Philia nodded in response to this. With the final message sent, the trio left the heroes alone in the central plaza.

"Looks like we're all set!" Sora stated, "Let's go!" "Hold on!" Philia stopped him, "Before we go, there's some place I want to go to…"

She led the team to a door in the back alley in the Third District. It was a sturdy wooden door, but it had a fire emblem on it. "What is this?" Sora asked. "I don't know." Philia answered, "But I do think it leads to another part of town. I hadn't been able to open it before, but now that I have fire magic…"

She raised a hand and unleashed a Fire spell at the door. There was a click, and the door opened up. "Sweet…" Sora gasped. "Let's go check out what on the other side." Philia told the team, and they entered in.

It was a large area, with a body of water, and large stepping stones leading to an island on the other side of the area. "Wonder who lives there?" Goofy asked. "Ah, who cares?!" Donald replied. "Let's go see." Sora proposed, "It couldn't hurt to check it out." "Hence, why we came here." Philia told Sora. The two led Donald and Goofy through the archway of the house, and entered in.

The interior of the house was one room. One round, empty room, to be exact, with a round platform in the middle of it. "Nobody's home." Donald noticed. "Maybe it is abandoned?" Philia asked, "I mean, the doorway to here was sealed by magic."

The team entered further in, examining the place. As Sora looked about, he suddenly heard a voice behind him, and turned suddenly to see Kairi walking towards him. "There's something about this musty place…" she stated, "It reminds me of the secret place back home, where we used to scribble on the walls. Remember?" She looked to Sora, who was shocked to see her. He reached out, calling to her.

"Sora?" Goofy called out, drawing Sora's attention. He looked to see Donald, Goofy and Philia looking at him with concern. "You okay?" Philia asked him. He looked to them, then back to Kairi, and was startled to see her not there. For a second, he had no idea where she went, or to explain this to the others, who by the looks of it, didn't see Kairi there.

"Well, well. You've arrived sooner than I expected." said a voice at the door. The quartet were startled as they turned to see a man that was clearly dressed as a blue wizard, complete with extremely long beard, and a luggage bag. The four gathered around as Sora started, "Wha… You knew we were coming?" "I did." the wizard answered.

"Are you…a Heartless?" Sora asked. "You idiot!" Philia retorted, "Do you see anything that makes him a Heartless? This guy is clearly…" she stopped, not sure who he was. "My name is Merlin." the man introduced himself, "As you can see, I am a sorcerer I spend much of my time traveling. It's good to be home. Your king has requested my help."

"King Mickey?" Goofy questioned. "Yes, indeed." Merlin answered, "Donald, Goofy. And who might you two be, young man and lady?" "I'm Philia." she introduced herself, "This is Sora." Merlin examined Sora, then noticed, "Ah. So, you have found the key." "You mean the Keyblade, right?" Philia asked. "Quite so." Merlin replied.

"What did the king ask you to do?" Donald asked. "Just a moment…" Merlin replied, putting down his bag. He pulled out his wand, and waved it. All of a sudden, the bag opened up, and an assortment of objects came out, starting as tiny, but becoming bigger and bigger until they were the right proportion. When he was finished, the room was now filled with many things, including a table with a tea set, piles of books, a bed, shelves filled with an assortment of stuff, and even a lit torch in the middle of the room, illuminating the dark area.

"That's incredible!" Philia gasped, looking about, "I've never seen magic like this before!" "Neither have I!" Sora agreed, also amazed. "It was nothing." Merlin replied, though smiling a bit at the expressions on their faces, "Now, then. Your king asked me to train you in the art of magic. Well, I mean, those who can use it, of course. We can start anytime you like. If you need the training, come to me." "Gotcha." Philia understood. Sora wasn't sure if that was gonna work out for him, considering he didn't know how to use magic in the first place.

"Now one more thing…" Merlin told the group, and he directed the attention of the heroes to one part of the room, where what looked like a fancy toy carriage was sitting on the floor. Suddenly, there was a sparkling of lights, converging on the carriage, and it disappeared, replacing it with a stout woman who also looked the part of a sorceress, including a wand at hand.

"Hello. I'm the Fairy Godmother." the woman greeted the surprised heroes, "The king asked me to help, too. I will assist throughout your journey, and I'll grant you something when the time is right." "What is it?" Donald asked. "Oh, it is too soon for you to know, dear." The Fairy Godmother answered.

"I do not know how much I can be of help, but do stop by anytime." Merlin told the heroes. "Thank you, Merlin." Sora thanked him, "We'll come back at some point." Philia bowed to the sorcerer as the others walked out, and she raced behind.

Back in the First District, Philia requested that she and Sora should drop off the postcards they have gathered so far into the mailbox. Sora agreed, and they dropped them in. The prizes they got out were a Mega-Potion, a Mega-Ether, a Mythril, and an Elixir. Philia placed them in the special pouch, deciding to be the carrier of the supplies.

"So where is this 'vessel' of yours?" Philia asked Goofy. "Oh, our gummi ship is actually floatin' above us." Goofy answered, pulling back his sleeve to show a watch of some kind, "All we have to do is use this to bring us up there again."

"The 'gummi ship'?" Sora questioned. "That's our ship." Donald answered. "Wait 'til you see it!" Goofy said happily. "I wonder what it looks like?" Philia asked.

"Now, hold on!" Donald halted, "Sora, this is for you." Donald held up a small ball of light, giving it to Sora. He took it, confused, then felt something warm from it. "It feels…kinda hot." Sora noticed. "That's a magic orb." Philia noticed, "Aerith gave one to me. With it, you can cast magic." "Woah, really?!" Sora gasped, amazed, then he thought, _Guess going to Merlin's house wouldn't be such a bad idea now._

The orb floated and entered into Sora. "That's the power of fire." Donald stated, "You can now use the Fire spell." "Hey, just like me." Philia compared. "There are all kinds of magic out there." Donald told Sora, "Just say the name of what move you want to use, and it'll produce itself." "I usually use my weapon or hand to unleash the spell." Philia explained, "My dagger give me better accuracy, but you never know."

"What you should know is that magic is limited." Donald explained, "If your magic is low, fighting enemies or using ether and such will replenish your magic energy." "Got it…I think." Sora understood slightly. "You'll get use to it." Philia assured him.

"Well, I see big adventures coming their way!" said a voice down below. Sora and Philia looked down and were shocked to see a small bug with a tuxedo, top hat and umbrella near them. "What in the…?" Philia gasped. "Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket." the bug introduced himself, "Looks like it's up to me to keep track of all the adventures in my journal!"

He hopped onto Sora's shoulder with surprising ease, then asked, "If you don't mind, I'll settle myself in your pocket, writin' every bit of detail down. I'll also help you on analyzing certain things, such as materials, accessories, and even other kinds of Keyblades."

"There are other kinds?" Sora asked. "Sure. From the king's notes he left for me, Keyblades come in all shapes and sizes." Jiminy explained, "I'll do the best to see what they are."

"Well, I don't know much about those kinds of things." Philia stated, "But I do have a book on Heartless. I'll memorize as many as I can, and detail it to everyone. I might even add some notes to it if there isn't enough info." "Good!" Donald understood, "Then I'll analyze the magic we find!"

"Let's head out!" Sora declared, "Goofy, send us to your ship!" "You got it!" Goofy answered, tapping on the device. There was a glowing green light, and the four suddenly teleported away.

When they arrived, they found themselves in the inside of the ship. Sora and Philia were amazed as they stared about, recognizing them being in the bridge of the ship. "This is the Kingdom." Goofy told the two, "This is where we control the ship. The engineering room, kitchen and bathrooms are through the door behind us." The two turned to where the door was.

"Here is the controls." Donald explained, settling down at the steering wheel of the ship, "I'll drive us outta here!" Goofy got into the side seat, while Sora and Philia took the back seats. "So this is how we're gonna travel, huh?" Sora noted, looking about, "Well, compared to the raft, it sure is spectacular." "I'm hoping we'll find places that haven't been ravaged by the Heartless." Philia prayed.

"Blast off!" Donald declared, and with several presses of the the buttons, he launched the gummi ship into space. Sora and Philia looked about into the endless space, then at one another. For each of them, this was going to be an adventure of a lifetime.

* * *

 **Whoo! A long episode, this one is. How do you like it so far? The team is assembled, and it is time to explore worlds!**

 **Just as a plug out to anyone who enjoys Pokemon & RWBY; my buddy of mine, Coral the Leviathan, created a story called 'A Trainer in Remnant' and a sequel called 'Huntsmen in Kalos'. These stories are fun, in my case, and I recommend having you guys read them, too. In fact, the 'Huntsmen in Kalos' features an OC of mine in it! Go support her work.**

 **As for this story, leave a review, tell your friends, and be patient for the next episode!**

* * *

 **Next Time on SAK: HO  
**

 **Donald: We aren't suppose to interefere with the world order!**

 **Sora: But that person's giving that girl an unfair trial!**

 **Philia: It looks like Heartless are involved with this. We might need to make an acception.**

 **Sora: I totally agree. Let's save that girl!**

 **Goofy: Gawrsh, we better do somethin', or she'll be locked away in that birdcage!**

 **Donald: What did I just say before?!**

 **On the next 'Sword Art Kingdom: Heart's Origin'**

 **Wonderland! The Queen of Stolen Hearts!**

 **Philia & Sora: Let's go chart our next adventure!**


	3. Wonderland! Queen of Stolen Hearts!

**This one was pretty quick to do! The inspiration imagination just went wild on me! I decided not only to look at the story from within the game of Kingdom Hearts, but I also looked into the manga version, too. From there, I managed to create a story line that works well, along with each character getting some good moments. Time to tumble into Wonderland!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Falling Down the Rabbit Hole**

Sora and Philia endured the ride as Donald steered and Goofy fired the turrets of the gummi ship, striking down the Heartless ships that were in their path. "Goofy, on our right!" Donald called to Goofy. "Right!" Goofy answered, firing the turret towards two Heartless ship, taking them down.

"Is it going to be like this every time we fly to a new world?!" Sora asked. "Yep! The Heartless ships give us a hard time out here, but we can beat them up with our gummi ship!" Goofy answered. "Just hold on! We're almost there!" Donald shouted. Philia and Sora looked out the dome window to see that Donald was right. "We finally made it; A new world!" Philia sighed in relief.

 _(Philia speaking) Hi. My name is Philia, and that's all you'll get from me. Some time ago, I landed in a world called Traverse Town, with no memory of my past. This is mostly the reason why I joined these people on their journey._

 _Sora, here, is the chosen wielder of the Keyblade, a special weapon used to defeat the Heartless. Donald and Goofy were sent by the king to find Sora, and search for the king afterwards. Jiminy Cricket is our journalist, writing down our entire journey in his little book. As for me, well, I'm just searching for who I am, and where I came from. Maybe this world will give me some answers._

"So how do we get down there?" Sora asked. "Simple. We use that there transporter to telephone us down to the surface." "Teleport!" Donald corrected Goofy's statement. "Right. We teleport down there." Goofy corrected himself. Sora and Philia looked to the circular platform surrounded by a metallic wall.

"Is it safe?" Philia asked. "Sure! We went to Traverse Town on that thing!" Goofy answered. "I'll lock in the coordinates to get us down there!" Donald informed the crew, "Get on the transporter!" Sora, Goofy and Philia all climbed onto the platform. Once Donald punched in the coordinates, he waddled his way onto the transporter, and they disappeared in a flash of light.

When they reappeared, they looked about. They found themselves in a dark, circular room. Sora then felt nothing beneath his feet, looked down, and looked horrified. A deep hole was beneath them. "Oh no…" Sora moaned, and the four started falling down the hole, screaming like crazy, wondering what was gonna happen next.

* * *

 _(Cue 'Digimon Adventure Tri Opening 1 - Butterfly TV Size', music on Youtube)_

 **(0:00-0:19)** As the viewer zoom in on a grassy field, a red shape passes the viewer, revealing Sora in the distance. A light blue shape passes, revealing Philia, then a green one reveals Goofy, and a dark blue one reveals Donald. The viewer zooms in and circles around to see the four of them standing there, looking off into the distance. The image becomes blurry as the title appears in front of them.

 **(0:19-0:30)** Sora was asleep on the shore of the Destiny Islands, but was awoken by a voice behind him. He turned to see Kairi and Riku standing there by the raft, the latter looking somewhat annoyed by Sora's laziness while Kairi waved him over to help. Sora got to his feet and raced to his friends. The screen fades to white.

 **(0:31-0:41)** The viewer zoom out of the white in Philia's eyes as she practices with her Sword Breaker, with Leon and Yuffie watching her. Her blade glowing yellow-green as she thrusted her blade forward in a Dagger Skill. She holds her position for a moment as Yuffie applauds her, then Philia lowers her weapon, looking up at the sky with a sad expression. The viewer looks into the sky, seeing the stars as they shined for a seconds, before quickly disappearing one by one.

 **(0:41-0:46)** The viewer zooms out as Maleficent comes into view, standing at the table with the shadowy silhouettes of her villainous allies, and Riku at her side.

 **(0:47-0:55)** The scene changes to six of the seven Princesses of Heart, their eyes closed as if they were asleep. Kairi appears in the middle of it, her arms crossed in front of her as she opens her eyes and her body scatters into lights, replacing her position with Sora as he stood there beside Philia, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy on Donald's head as the viewer shifts the angle to behind them, seeing the hundreds of Heartless in front of them.

 **(0:56-1:06)** The four begin to display to the viewers their combat skills against the Heartless one at a time, starting with Sora, then Philia, then Goofy, then finally Donald, who rains down lightning onto the Heartless before the heroes charge in to continue fighting.

 **(1:07-1:18)** The viewer passes the Heartless to see Riku standing at the end, reaching out to Sora as to invite him to the darkness, with the shadowy image of Heartless Ansem mimicking his movements. Philia clears the path for Sora as he races forward, reaching out to his friend. The view shifts to Sora's view, his hand reaching out to Riku as he and the darkness fade away into the light.

 **(1:19-1:32)** The screen shines an image of King Mickey holding the Keyblade as Donald and Goofy looking in from the sides. The view shifts to a dark image of Aincrad as it crumbles away, with Philia's face looking to the viewer. The view zooms out as Sora pats Philia's shoulder, causing her to look and smile at Sora as he grinned back. The view zooms back even further to show quartet and Jiminy standing there, smiling at the viewers as they stood on the same hill as before, before the view shifts back to the sky again, with the flower petals flying by once again.

* * *

"Why did you set us here, Donald?!" Philia demanded, tumbling down the hole. "I didn't know this was gonna happen!" Donald squawked back.

While three of the heroes were terrified, believing they were gonna die, Goofy noticed something, and asked, "Hey, uh, does anyone feel like they're slowin' down?" The trio stopped panicking, feeling their descent. He was right. They were less falling like a bag of hammers, but more like hanging from parachutes. What's more, they were able to control themselves in the air better.

"What's going on?" Sora asked, turning to Donald, "Is this suppose to happen?" "How should I know?" Donald replied. Goofy looked like he was relaxing on a couch as they fell.

"Ground floor, incoming." Philia warned the team, seeing the floor creeping up from underneath them. Sora, Donald and Philia landed on their feet, while Goofy wasn't prepared, and tumbled to the floor face-first. "I did warn him." Philia pointed out as Donald shook his head at Goofy's absentminded moment.

As Goofy was getting up, someone passed by them in a rush. It was a white rabbit, the size of Donald, wearing a red coat over a yellow dress shirt, a dark red bowtie, and gray pants. He carried an oversized pocket watch in his left hand.

"Oh, my fur and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" the White Rabbit cried out in a worried tone, rushing past the team, "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm here, I should be there. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! The queen, she'll have my head for sure!" He rushed around one corner, and disappeared.

"What was that about?" Philia asked. "Who know." Donald answered. "C'mon. Let's go follow him!" Sora decided, "I'm sure we'll understand if we go after him." Sora took off down the crooked corridor. Donald and Philia looked to each other as Goofy stood up to his feet, and together, they ran after him.

Sora reached a door around the corridor. He opened it, and another smaller one, and another smaller one. "What's the point of that?" Sora asked as the team gathered together. He led the team by crouching underneath into the next room.

The room was small, but very odd-looking and unbalanced. There was a table and a chair in the middle of the room, with two glass bottles on the edge of it, and a bed sitting in one corner of the room, right next to a door too small to even crawl through, with a golden doorknob.

Sora looked about, then noticed something very odd. The white rabbit was much smaller now as he raced past the team, entered through the small door on one side of the room, and closing it behind him.

"How did he get so small?" Sora asked, walking over and crouching down in front of the small door. As Philia, Donald and Goofy gathered around him, the doorknob on the door suddenly opened its' eyes and spoke, "Nu-no, you're simply too big." All but Goofy were shocked at what just happened. "It talks!" Donald squawked. "The doorknob is alive?!" Philia gasped.

The doorknob yawned and asked, "Must you be so loud? You woke me up." "Good mornin'." Goofy greeted the doorknob. _Really? He isn't phased by this?_ Sora and Philia both thought as they stared at Goofy. "Good night!" the doorknob retorted, "I need a bit more sleep."

He was about to go back to sleep again when Sora crouched forward and asked, "Wait, what do we have to do to grow small?" "Why don't you try the bottle over there?" the doorknob answered, pointing his knob-nose over to the table.

Philia walked over and picked the two bottles up, looking at each of them. One had a blue label with a flourishing tree pointing to a sprout, the other had a red label with a small sprout pointing to a tree. "A tree and a sprout…" Philia looked at them, "I bet these represent what they should do." "Hey, let's try the blue bottle." Goofy suggested, "It has a tree goin' to a sprout, so it should make us smaller." "Well, considering what the label shows, I guess that makes sense." Sora agreed.

Sora drank the bottle first, and handed it to Goofy. As Sora let go, his body started to shrink, surprising Donald and Philia. Goofy passed the bottle to Donald, who looked at it suspiciously as Goofy started to shrink, and he drank it, passing it to Philia. Philia watched the other three start to grow smaller, and took a drink. She placed the bottle back on the table as her body began to shrink. Within moments, the quartet found themselves almost as small as the bottles they had just drank.

"We've turned tiny, too!" Sora gasped, looking at himself and the environment around him, "Is this part of the world's mysterious powers?" "It's just weird for any world." Donald muttered, looking up at the table above. "Compared to what we saw Merlin do, we shouldn't be so surprised." Philia stated to the team, "Now, let's chase after that rabbit."

They were about to head to the doorknob when Soldier, Shadow and Blue Rhapsody Heartless appeared in front of them. "Whoa!" Sora gasped, producing his Keyblade. "It's the Heartless!" Goofy noticed. "At least they're small, just like us." Philia said in relief. The rest of the team pulled out their weapons, and they fought the Heartless.

During the fight, Goofy unleashed a technique where he bounded into the air with his shield, smacking down a Blue Rhapsody with his shield. "Nice move!" Philia told Goofy. "That's my Rocket attack." Goofy chuckled, "Comes in handy with Heartless in the air."

"True." Philia understood, firing a Fire spell at a Blue Rhapsody, "But that works, too." "Well, I don't know any magic." Goofy pointed out, "Donald's the wizard. I'm captain of the king's guard." "And you use a shield as your weapon?" Philia stated, "It's the reverse of the old saying, 'the best offense is a good defense'."

Once they cleared the area of Heartless, they walked up to the doorknob. "Excuse us. We would like to go through." Sora called to the doorknob. It was snoring away, indicating it was in a deep sleep. "How could it sleep so deeply and quickly after we fought those Heartless?" Philia wondered.

"Now what do we do?" Donald huffed as Goofy rested his back on the side of the bed. Philia looked to the two, then heard a noise of something heavy slowly moving. She and Sora looked about, until they noticed the bed Goofy leaning on was slowly moving back into the wall.

"Goofy, the bed!" Sora shouted, getting Donald and Goofy's attention. "Look!" Philia pointed at something. A small gap was barely seen in the same wall where the doorknob was at. "A hole!" Donald noticed. "Let's push the bed aside so we can get to it!" Philia told the team. Together, they started shoving the bed into the wall, until it was fully into it. The hole fully revealed itself to the team, and it was perfectly their size. "Let's go in and find that white rabbit!" Sora declared, and the four entered into the hole.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The Unfair Trial**

The team exited the hole, and found themselves in the middle of a grassy path, bordered by hedges. "What is this?" Donald asked. "Looks like…a hedge maze." Sora noticed. "A maze? We became small, and now we're in a hedge maze?" Philia asked, confused, "This world is confusing me…"

Just then, along the path ahead of them, the team noticed a horizontal path, and the white rabbit racing along it, moaning, "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" "The white rabbit!" Sora pointed out. "Let's go after it!" Philia declared, and the two led Donald and Goofy into the hedge maze.

It took a few minutes of the team following it before they stopped. It turned a corner, where guards that looked like oversized playing cards with heads, legs, and arms carrying spears. They made access for the white rabbit to pass by. The team looked to one another, then walked over to where the two pair of cards soldiers stood.

They were ignorant of the heroes as they looked in, and saw a heart-shaped opening into the open area before them, with which had walls and ceilings looking like a background to a cheap movie set. Inside the open are was a square rug with heart-shaped patterns on it, and a wooden court stand that looked like where a defendant should be. In front was a tall stand that looked like a judge box, what looked like a large bird cage at the bottom side that could fit a person, and a twisting staircase with a pedestal on top.

There was a defendant on the stand as well as a judge. The defendant was a young girl, maybe ten, with long, thick blonde hair, tied with a black bow. She wore a blue dress with a white pinafore, white tights and black Mary Jane shoes.

The Judge was a rather large woman, dressed like royalty. She had short hair tied in a bun, with a golden crown. She wore a black, red, and white-lined royal gown with a very high white collar. She also carried a small wand with a red heart. From the heroes point of view, they couldn't see anything else but the top half of the judge.

The white rabbit ran up the spiral stairs, pulled out a long bugle, and blew a tune into it. "Court is now in session!" the rabbit declared. "I'm on trial?" the young girl asked, "But why?" The rabbit ignored her question. "Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!" he declared, waving a hand to the judge of the trial.

Everyone turned their gaze to the Queen of Hearts, who's eyes were closed. She opened them, and looked down at the defendant in the court stand. "This girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it." she declared, "And the reason is…because I say so, that's why!" _What?!_ Philia and Sora exclaimed in their minds.

"That is so unfair!" the girl stated. "Well, have you anything to say in your defense?" the Queen of Hearts asked. "Of course! I've done absolutely nothing wrong!" the girl answered determinately, "You may be queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give the right to be so…so mean!" The white rabbit was sweating nervously at this accusation to royalty, plus knowing the queen's wrath, as it was soon to come.

"Silence!" barked the Queen of Hearts, slamming her hands on the table in front of her, "You dare defy me?! Are you intentionally trying to anger me!" The young girl looked frightened at the angry face the queen was giving her, and she became quiet.

"Well, I can say one thing about this trial; Everything is set against that young girl." Philia stated. "Hey, guys, we should help her out." Sora told the team. "Yeah, but the…" Donald started.

"We're outsiders, so wouldn't that be muddling?" Goofy asked. "Meddling!" Donald corrected him. "Oh, yeah. And since we ain't from this world, that's against the rules." Goofy finished.

Sora turned to Philia and asked, "Don't you want to do something?" "I do. Believe me, I do." Philia answered, "But we can't get involved unless it is absolutely necessary. First, let's hear things through to see what this girl is accused of." Sora was worried for the girl, but Philia was right. He turned back and watch the trial continue, or rather finish.

"The court find the defendant guilty as charged!" the Queen of Hearts declared, "For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart…" Philia and Sora were shocked at this accusation. "Off with her head!" the queen ordered the card soldiers, who turned to her, axes prepared. "No, no! Oh, please!" the girl cried out.

"Hold it right there!" Sora and Philia called out, racing ahead of Donald and Goofy as they charged through the soldiers, coming right behind the court stand. The girl turned to the heroes, startled at their sudden appearance.

"Who are you?!" the Queen of Heart demanded, "You dare interfere in the proceedings of this court? Mannerless, the lot of you!" "Says the queen who accuses a little girl under illegitimate reasons, and sentences her to death." Philia retorted stubbornly.

"E-Excuse me." Sora started, stepping in front of the team, "But we know who the real culprit is!" "Uh-huh. It's the Heartle—." Goofy started, but he shut himself up. He couldn't tell anything about the Heartless to people that didn't know them. Philia also knew that from Leon and the others.

"Well, in any case, this girl is not the one you're looking for." Philia told the queen. "That's nonsense. You have no idea what you are talking about!" the Queen answered, tapping her wand on the table, "Have you any proof to support the defense?" Sora and Philia looked to one another, before Sora answered, "Er, no…but we can find some to show you."

The Queen of Hearts waved her wand to one of the card soldiers, who seized the girl, tossing her into the birdcage and sealing it up. "Very well, I shall humor your claim." she told the heroes, "Bring me evidence of Alice's innocence! Fail and it's off with all of your heads! Gather as much or little evidence as you please. Until you conclude your investigation, the court is adjourned!" She slammed her wand on the table like a judge's mallet, signaling the end of the trial.

"What a mess we ended up in." Donald huffed. "At least we have a chance to save that girls' life." Philia assured the team. "Let's talk to her, and see if she has anything to say that'll help us find clues." Sora decided.

He led the team over to the girl stuck in the birdcage. "Who are you?" the girl asked. "I'm Sora." the boy introduced himself. "I'm Philia." she followed, "The two behind us are Donald and Goofy."

"Pleased to meet you, though I do wish it were under better circumstances." the girl answered, "My name is Alice. I'm very sorry you got mixed up in this nonsense." "Don't worry." Sora responded, "We wanted to help you out. So, why are you on trial in the first place?"

"I should like to know the very same thing!" Alice answered, "Apparently, I was guilty from the moment I took the stand!" "That's crazy!" Sora gasped. "And I say it again; Everything was set against you, Alice." Philia repeated herself.

"Can you figure out any place we might find some evidence to help support you?" Sora asked. "I'm not quite sure." Alice answered, "Although, within the woods past that grove over there…" she pointed to a path different from the one they entered into, "…the Cheshire Cat resides there. He might tell you where to find this proof."

"Oy! The defendant will be silent!" the card soldier barked at the group, "Visitin' hours 'll be over. Get movin' already!" "Okay, okay!" Sora replied, then to Alice, "We'll help you out of here, so don't worry about anything." Alice smiled and nodded back at them. "Come on, guys! Let's help Alice!" Sora declared, and he led the team to the path that led into the forest.

They entered into the forest, looking about the area. If they considered the fact that they had shrunk before, then this forest wouldn't be as odd as they thought. The grass was as tall as them, sometimes even taller. The stumps of former trees were wide enough to fit all four of them on, and still have room for ten more. Lotus were all over the place, like platforms that rose to multiple levels of the forest.

"Hey, guys, why can't we just have said that the Heartless were responsible for the assault?" Sora asked as they walked. "Well, the Heartless and us have something in common; We are not from this world." Philia answered. "What difference does that make?" Sora asked, "And why is it against the rules to conflict with other worlds?"

"Because every world has a boundary of reality and truth." Donald explained, "If one kind of truth from one world emerged in another, it causes confusion and chaos within its' reality. That's why we can't meddle too deeply in another world's affairs."

Sora and Philia looked to Donald with understanding, though very surprised. "What?" Donald asked, "Did that not make sense?" "No, it made sense, it's just…" Sora started. "…We didn't expect you to be that intelligent in it." Philia finished his statement. "Hey!" Donald barked. Goofy scratched his head, completely confused at Donald's explanation.

Just then, the team detected something, and they looked about. Suddenly from out of the shadows, a bouncing head of a grinning creature appeared for a few seconds, then it vanished. It reappeared and disappeared about them, until it and its' headless body appeared on a large stump. The body was balancing on the head, then it hopped off of it, picked up the head, and placed it on top of it, returning it to its' proper place.

Based on the appearance of the creature, the team guessed that they had just met the Cheshire Cat. It was grinning pink and purple-striped cat, larger than the average cat.

"You speak the truth? I suppose that the untruth of this truth upon truths holds truer." the cat stated, "The Cheshire Cat knows all truths, and finds as yet no contradiction nor chaos." The team looked puzzled at the first half of his speech, but understood the second half.

"I suppose that makes you the Cheshire Cat, then." Philia guessed. "I suppose that I am, or am I not?" the Cheshire Cat responded, getting more confusion, "Poor Alice. Soon to lose her head, and she's not guilty of a thing!"

"If you know any proof to help Alice, then tell us!" Sora demanded. "The Cheshire Cat has all the answers…but doesn't always tell." the grinning cat answered, "The answer, the culprit, and the cat all lie in darkness." With that, the cat faded away, disappearing without a trace.

"Wait!" Sora called out, looking at the stump and about him. "They've already left the forest. I won't tell which exit." the cat's voice echoed about, "There are four pieces of proof in all. Three are a cinch to find, but the fourth is tricky. But a reward can be gained if all are found."

"Should we trust him?" Donald asked the crew. The Cheshire Cat reappeared on the stump again as he answered, "To trust, or not to trust? I trust you'll decide!" With that said, it vanished once more, and everything was silent.

"Sora?" Goofy questioned, wondering about his thoughts. "Let's trust him. He may be full of riddles, but he doesn't seem untrustworthy." Sora answered.

"Four pieces of evidence, with three of them being easy, and the fourth not so much." Philia muttered, "If we're trying to save Alice, we need to gather as much evidence as possible, and as quickly as possible. Since there are four of us, let's split into pairs, and search this place for any evidence we can find indicating the Heartless."

"Sounds okay to me." Sora agreed, "I'll go with Goofy." "Then Donald will go with me." Philia responded, "If we don't meet each other before so, let's wait for one another at the court room. Got it?" "Right!" the trio responded. With that, the two teams split up, taking on different parts of the forest.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Searching for Evidence**

 **Sora's Side**

Wandering through the woods, Sora and Goofy encountered multiple Heartless about, trying to stop them as best as they could. While they weren't able to pull any evidence off of the Heartless, they did drop light green stone shards on occasions.

"What are these things?" Sora asked, holding a shard up. Jiminy hopped out of his pocket, examining the stone. "That's a Spirit Shard." he answered, "Those are a kind of material you can use to make new things in Moogle shops."

"What kind of things?" Sora asked. "Oh, you can make all kinds of stuff." Goofy answered, "There's potions, and accessories, and even weapons." "When we find a Moogle shop, we can just give them the material, and using a recipe, they can create something for us." Jiminy finished.

"That's pretty cool!" Sora realized, "I found some Mythril pieces before, but I didn't know what to do with them. Guess I'll gather as much as I can to make new things."

"Hey, look over here!" Goofy called to Sora, and he wandered over into a grassy patch. Pulling back the tall grass, he saw a small box on the ground at Goofy's feet. "A box?" Sora noticed, picking it up. "Wonder what's inside?" Goofy asked.

Sora opened the lid, and saw a pair of muddy footprints within it. "Footprints?" Sora questioned. "Hey, ya know, that looks a lot like the footprint of the Heartless!" Goofy realized. "You're right!" Jiminy agreed, "And I bet it can be used as evidence." "Perfect!" Sora cheered, putting the box away carefully on him, "We found our first clue! Now, let's go find another!" Jiminy hopped back into Sora's pocket as he and Goofy raced along the forest, searching for more evidence.

* * *

 **Philia's Side**

In another part of the grove, Donald and Philia hopped up the lotus to a higher part of the area. They dealt with the Heartless about them mainly with Fire spells, although Philia handled the ones that were close to them with her dagger.

"I can't find any evidence at all!" Donald moaned, "Maybe that cat was lying to us, after all." "We only just started looking. Donald." Philia answered, "C'mon, let's go this way." The two walked into a dark hole within the woods, keeping an eye and ear out for any Heartless appearing. Next second, the two fell down a hole they didn't notice, screaming.

Next second, the duo found themselves back in the bizarre room again, laying on top of a brick oven in there. "Well, that was unexpected…" Philia moaned. "This place is too confusing." Donald huffed, getting to his feet, brushing off his beret.

"Hey, check this out." Philia said, pointing to the edge of the oven top. It was a small box. The two walked towards it, with Donald picking it up. "What's in it?" Donald asked. "Open it and find out." Philia answered.

Donald opened it, and closed it quickly, shaking his head in disgust. "Pee-yew!" he gasped, "That smells bad!" Philia took the box, and opened it. It was a rather foul odor, and it was rather hard to compare it to anything else, except…

"You know, I recall this smell from the Heartless I've fought." she pointed out to Donald, closing the box, "Perhaps if we gave this to the Queen of Hearts, the smell might be familiar to her." "Then that means…" Donald realized. "We found a piece of evidence." Philia told Donald, "Looks like the cat wasn't lying after all."

Donald grumbled a bit, but had to accept the fact that Philia was right. Philia placed the box away, and said, "Let's keep moving. We should find more evidence." The two leapt off the oven, going back to the forest to search some more.

* * *

 **Sora's Side**

Sora and Goofy were back to back as they were surrounded by Heartless. "We just can't get a break from them!" Sora moaned. "Must be because of the Keyblade." Goofy guessed. The two took on the Heartless, defeating them quickly before any reinforcements arrived.

As soon as they were done, they heard a small voice ask, "Excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to have a potion on you, would you?" Sora and Goofy turned to the direction of the voice, only to see a closed flower by them. "Who said that?" Sora asked. "I did!" the flower shook its' head, "Please give me a potion. I am very thirsty."

Sora and Goofy looked to one another, then Sora stepped forward, pulling out a potion, and pouring it onto the head of the flower. In an instant, the flower petals opened up, revealing a small face. It had something in its' closed petals, which turned out to be a hi-potion.

"Oh, thank you ever so much!" the flower thanked Sora, "If there is anything I can do, please ask." "Okay. Do you know of any sort of 'evidence' we can find?" Sora asked, "Maybe a box containing some evidence?" "Hmm…" The flower hummed, "Well, I don't know it it was evidence in it, but there is a box on that lotus over there." It pointed its' face to the lotus near them, rising high above them, too high to merely leap to it.

Sora looked around it, saw a pair of mushrooms, one higher than the other, which worked as steps to reach the pad. Sora bounded forward, leaping from one mushroom to the next, finally reaching the pad, seeing the box on top.

He opened it up, and saw a shadowy branch within it. "What is this?" Sora questioned, pulling it out and examining it, "Wait a minute…those Shadows had antenna like this. It's a Heartless antenna!"

"Is that a piece of prune?" Goofy asked. "Proof!" Sora corrected him, "And yeah, it is!" He hopped back onto the ground next to Goofy. "That's two pieces of evidence we have found." he told his friend, "Now we just need to find those last two pieces, and we'll be good!" "Wonder if Donald and Philia are havin' as much luck as we are?" Goofy asked as the two wandered off for more evidence.

* * *

 **Philia's Side**

The two were back in the forest, hopping along the tops of the lotuss. Philia noticed a treasure box nearby, and she wandered over to it. "Another treasure, eh?" Philia asked, "Well, I might as well open it." She pulled out her two metal pieces, and worked on the keyhole.

"You can open that?" Donald asked. "I've done it before in Traverse Town." Philia answered, "It'll take a few seconds." After that amount of time, the lock clicked, and opened up. Inside, she was startled as three dalmatian puppies popped out, bounding around her. "Puppies?!" Donald squawked. "Dalmatian puppies!" Philia giggled as one came up to lick her face.

"What are they doing here?!" Donald demanded. "You know, I recall Aerith saying that there was a pair of dalmatians that lost their puppies, 101 in all." Philia stated, "I bet these are three of their puppies. When we head back to Traverse Town, let's bring them there. But where should we place them for now?"

"Let's send them back to the gummi ship." Donald stated, pulling out a device similar to the one Goofy had back in Traverse Town. After a few buttons, Donald sent the puppies to the ship. "They're in the storage area of the ship, so they won't get into trouble!" Donald assured Philia. "Good thinking, Donald." Philia replied, "Now, let's continue the search."

They were about to continue when they saw something grow off in the distance. To their shock, it turned out to be Sora, becoming bigger again. "Wha!" Donald said with shock. "Sora? What happened to you?!" Philia asked.

Sora turned to see the two. "Hey, guys!" he greeted them, "A flower helped me get bigger. This might help us out." Philia and Donald ran over to the lotuss closest to Sora's face, seeing Goofy getting out of a pond, having just fallen in. Sora walked over, and stomped on a mushroom which fell into the ground, causing another lotus to grow higher. He then wandered over to a large stem, accidentally ramming into it, making it spin. "Ow, my head!" Sora moaned, "I need to get smaller again."

"Sora, up there!" Philia called to him, pointing to what looked like a ripe piece of fruit above Sora's head. Seeing it, Sora leapt up and smacked the fruit off of its' branch, catching it in one hand. "Is it edible?" Sora asked, and he took a bite into it without thinking things through. It was rather tasty. The moment he swallowed it, his body started to shrink again, back to how he was before.

"Hey, I'm back!" Sora stated, looking at himself. Philia and Donald leapt back down to Sora's side, while Goofy joined them, wringing his hat before placing it and his goggles back on his head. "This world is just full of growth-issues." Philia sighed, "Well, let's see what the results of what you did before did."

There were new parts of the forest they could get access to, now that they removed some obstacles. They reached higher and higher into the forest, with Philia ahead of the pack. She found another dark path ahead, and felt that she knew what was gonna come. "Guys, get ready to fall in." she told the team as they were trying to catch up with her, and she raced into the dark path. "Wait up!" Sora called out, reaching the path she took. Looking in, Sora saw that she disappeared.

Philia fell down again, this time landing on top of a faucet handle near the fireplace. She caught herself before she fell off, looking about. She saw a shelf next to her, and a small box on top of it. "Bingo!" she muttered, and she leapt to the shelf just as Sora fell onto the faucet from above, catching himself. Goofy followed afterwards, and Donald fell last. He nearly slipped and fell off the handle, but the two boys caught him.

Philia took the small box, and opened it up. Inside, she found a piece of bark, with three cuts on it. "What'd ya find?" Sora asked. "Claw marks!" Philia recognized, "Heartless claw marks. I recognize them anywhere."

The three reached the wooden shelf, seeing the bark in Philia's hand as she placed it back in the box. "So, adding this, we also have the stench of a Heartless." Philia noted, pulling out the other box, "What about you?" "We have footprints, and an antenna." Sora answered, pulling out the two boxes, "That means…" "We found all the evidence!" the two exclaimed in unison.

They were slightly startled at their sudden union of voices. Donald and Goofy chuckled at what just happened. The two looked to them, then two each other, then blushed in embarrassment. It wasn't like they planned on doing that.

"Well, look what you've found. Nice going." said a familiar voice. The team turned to see the Cheshire Cat on the faucet handle. "That's all four pieces of evidence." Sora stated as he and Philia showed off their prizes, "Now we can save Alice!"

"Don't be so sure!" the cat warned them, "She may be innocent, but what about you?" "What are you talking about?" Philia asked, frowning at the cat. "I won't tell. But I'll give you something." the cat stated, lifting a paw up to reveal a magic orb. It split into three orbs, which dove into Sora, Philia and Donald.

"That's cold!" Sora felt. "It's the power of ice!" Donald realized, "We can use the Blizzard spell." "An ice-element spell?" Philia understood, "That'll help us out. Thank you for…" She looked up at where the Cheshire Cat was before, but he vanished. "He disappeared!" Goofy realized. "Where did he go?" Donald asked.

Sora couldn't help but feel a little suspicious about the cat's warning. What did he mean by their innocence? Were they accused of something? Wanting to follow this through, Sora leapt off the shelf down to the floor, followed by the rest of the group.

Before they could reach the hole to the court, there were Heartless that they had to take care of before that. It contained Red Nocturnes, which were similar to the Blue Rhapsodies, only they used fire attacks. "Let's use the new spell out!" Sora told the team, " _Deep Freeze!_ " he shot several ice crystals that went a short distance, but scattered about to hit two Red Nocturnes, defeating them.

"Good work, Sora!" Philia cheered, using the same spell to defeat a pair of Shadows, "A scattershot attack like that is bound to come in handy. And considering that it was Blizzard magic, those Red Nocturnes didn't have a chance!" When they cleared the area, they gathered up new material from the Heartless that Jiminy called Blaze Shards, and raced towards the hole, ready to show their evidence to the Queen of Hearts.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Disappearing Act**

The team raced back to the court room, with Sora and Philia taking to the stands, and Donald and Goofy standing on the sidelines. They noticed that the position of the birdcage had risen several feet into the air, near the Queen's level, and red blinds were closed around Alice, hiding her from view.

"Your Majesty, we have evidence on us that prove Alice's innocence!" Sora declared. "We shall see." the Queen of Hearts responded in an unimpressed manner, "Now, show me what you have found." Sora and Philia placed the boxes of evidence out in front of them.

"Well, that's certainly a lot of evidence, but I'm still not impressed." the Queen of Hearts huffed, "Cards! Bring forth my evidence!" One of the red cards raced to one side of the court room, pulling out a new box that the heroes did not see before. At the same time, another red card soldier gathered the four they had, and placed them on the ground before the judge's stand. "Is that evidence legitimate?" Sora asked Philia. "How should I know?" the girl responded.

"Hmm, checking all five would only be a waste of time." the Queen stated, "All right, then. Choose the one you wish to present. I'll decide who's guilty based on that evidence." "Wait, what?!" Sora gasped. "After all that trouble, we can only pick one?" Philia asked. "You dare object?! Then you will lose your head!" the Queen of Hearts roared, "Now choose! One box!"

Sora and Philia were now in a stump. They could only pick one piece of evidence out of all that they have gathered, plus one more that they didn't know what it was. "What do we do?" Sora whispered to Philia. "I don't know." she answered, "But we need to pick one that has the strongest proof that the Heartless are responsible." "Okay. Why don't you pick one out." Sora told her, "You probably can see which is better."

Philia stepped down and examined each box. _Which one has stronger proof of the Heartless?_ she thought, _Well, the footprint is out. It's clean in here, so she probably wouldn't recognize it. The same went for the stench. The smell has probably died out, already. Plus, if she recognizes Alice as the guilty one, she wouldn't know what the Heartless truly look like, so that rules out the antenna. That leaves the claw marks, and the queen's evidence._

She removed the three she chose not to pick, leaving the two remaining. She looked at either one, wondering if she should show their proof of the Heartless, or her's. She then detected something from the queen's box. There was some sort of movement within. Frowning, she wondered if it was worth the risk. She reached out, taking the box, which surprised Sora, and she opened it up.

The moment she opened the lid, something shot out to the Queen. It was a Soldier Heartless. The Queen was horrified. "What manner of creature is this?!" she demanded. "Your true culprit!" Sora shouted, producing his Keyblade, and striking the Heartless before it reached the Queen.

"There's your evidence." Philia stated, "That creature was attempting to steal your heart. Alice is innocent. Please, let her go!" Sora came to Philia's side, nodding in approval. Despite the risk, they had a sound case.

The Queen of Hearts was shaken by the sudden attack. She calmed herself, closed her eyes, then angrily looked down at the two. "Silence! I'm the law!" she bellowed, "If I say she is guilty, then guilty she is! Article 29 states, 'Anyone who defies the queen is guilty'!" The two were horror-struck, as well as the ones on the sidelines.

"But we have proof of her innocence!" Philia barked, "It came from the evidence YOU gave!" "You dare defy me once again?!" the Queen growled back.

"The fact that you defied your own evidence is no different than defying you!" Philia yelled angrily, stepping towards, "If that article stays true, then you are defying yourself! Therefore…" she pointed a finger up at the Queen as she finished, "…you are guilty!"

The card soldiers were murmuring amongst themselves while the Queen was completely speechless. In all sound and reason, Philia had placed her in a corner, with no way of getting herself out without defying her own rules or herself. She might as well off her own head if she did that.

Meanwhile, Donald and Goofy were amazed at Philia's sound judgement, but none more so than Sora. _She managed to use this world's unfair laws, and pin them against the queen!_ Sora thought, _Philia is amazing. She has no memory of her past, but she is smart enough to think her way around this world's rules without meddling too much into it._

"Donald, Goofy! Lower the birdcage!" Philia ordered her two friends, "We had our say. The judgement has been passed. Alice is free to go!" Donald and Goofy did as they were told, passing by the black card soldiers, and turning the crank to lower the cage. "What are you doing?!" one soldier demanded, "We can't release prisoners without prior authorization!" They ignored this as the birdcage hit the ground. They opened up the blinds as Philia and Sora came to join them. They were shocked to see that the cage was empty. Alice was missing!

"Alice?!" Sora gasped. "Where did she go?" Goofy asked. "She couldn't have freed herself." Philia noticed, "How did she get out?" "She must've gotten kidnapped while we were searching for evidence." Donald suggested.

"Stand to attention, men!" the Queen of Hearts declared, getting the card soldiers' attention, "The defendant has escaped custody, and remains at large! I order to you to search for who's behind this! I don't care how! Should you fail, off with all your heads!" The card soldiers understood and took off in multiple directions.

"What do we do, now?" Donald asked. "What else? Find Alice before they do!" Sora answered, "Let's search for her, together!" The team nodded in approval. Philia liked the fact that Sora was taking charge here, especially after how defiant she was against the queen, before. With the decision made, Sora led the team back to the bizarre room to investigate.

When they arrived, Goofy suggested that maybe Alice was taken back to the entrance at the bottom of the rabbit hole. They used the bottle to grow big again, and return to where they started.

When they reached there, they found a whole sleuth of Heartless, coming in waves to attack the team. Sora, Philia, Donald and Goofy all worked together, taking on Shadow, Soldiers, Red Nocturnes, and even a Large Body. Philia pulled off the same trick she used the last time she fought off a Large Body; leap over it when it charged, and unleashed a Side Bite Dagger Skill. The results were the same. When they cleared it, they found a treasure box that the Heartless hid, which turned out to be a Mega Potion. Even though there was no sign of Alice, the reward was still satisfying. Philia suggested the forest again, and they returned back.

As they entered the forest, something came to Sora's mind. "You know, we don't really know who the kidnapper looks like." he figured, "Our best bet would be that the Heartless did it, since they are the only TRUE villains around here, but that wouldn't make any sense."

"That's true." Philia agreed, "Heartless act on instinct, and attack anyone with even the slightest darkness in their heart. For some reason, I didn't feel any sort of darkness within Alice. She's too innocent. Plus, Heartless aren't smart enough on their own to pull off a plan like that."

"You know, I have a hunch about somethin'." Donald wondered, "There is a chance someone is actually controlling the Heartless. Based on movements, it's like they were strategically put to stop us or our goals."

"So, in other words, someone is working in the shadows, capable of controlling the Heartless." Sora rephrased, "But who could be able to do that?" "I dunno." Goofy answered, then he shuddered, "But it must be someone pretty bad!" The team looked to one another, thinking. Who was able to manipulate the Heartless to do this?

As they thought, they reached the pond that Goofy fell into before. Just then, a red flower opened up beside them, firing a large rock passed them. They stopped to avoid the rock as it landed near the pond. "Where did that come from?!" Sora gasped. The same question could be asked again when the Cheshire Cat suddenly appeared, doing a kneeling handstand on the rock.

"You again." Philia noticed. "Alas, having found the evidence you sought, you now seek the defendant you lost? Poor Alice…" "Have you seen Alice?" Donald asked. "Alice, no. Shadows, yes!" the Cheshire Cat answered. Shadows? Philia thought.

"Where did they go?" Goofy asked. "This way? That way? Does it matter?" the Cheshire Cat answered, "Left, right, up, down! All mixed up thanks to the shadows!" "You're the one that's mixed up. In the head!" Donald squawked. Sora waved a hand in front of Donald to silence him, then he asked, "Just tell us where to go."

"Step deeper into the forest to the deserted garden." the Cheshire Cat told them, "You might find shadows in the upside-down room!" With that, the Cheshire Cat vanished once more.

"I still don't trust him." Donald moaned. "Trust him or not, he's the only one who's given us clues to reach this far." Philia told him, "Let's find a way deeper into this forest, and find this 'upside-down' room." She walked over to the large rock as she continued, "That Cheshire Cat obviously set this up for us. He wants us to push it into the water. But we're too weak to move it."

"Hey, why don't ya grow bigger?" Goofy asked. "Oh, yeah!" Sora realized, walking up to a closed flower. He reached for a potion in his pocket, but realized he was out. "Hey, does anyone have a regular potion on them?" he asked. "I have one." Philia answered, walking over and pulling out a potion.

Sora backed off as she poured it onto the flower, which opened up and sprayed powder on her. Suddenly, Philia grew to a large size before them. She was surprised at her size at first, as was the trio. She then went over and easily pushed the rock into the pond. Two lotuss in the pond rose with stems underneath, forming a pathway to a different part of the forest.

After that, she did what Sora did before, took a fruit from the tree above, and bit into it, reverting back to normal. "That was an interesting experience." she muttered. "C'mon! Let's find where Alice is at!" Sora told her, and she followed him up the newly-formed platforms.

They descended down into a part of the forest that was too thick to get to any other way. Inside, they discovered another dark pathway, believing that they were bound to drop down somewhere. After defeating some Red Nocturnes, they ventured into the path, but there was no drop. Instead, they found themselves coming out on top of the hedge surrounding the Queen's court. She was no longer there at the moment, so no one saw them.

They did discover a treasure chest. Sora opened it up, revealing three dalmatian puppies coming out of it. Sora was surprised at first, but after Philia and Donald's explanation of the dalmatian puppies they saved before, and where they belonged, Sora got Goofy to send them back to the gummi ship to wait.

They went back into the Lotus Forest to investigate some more areas they haven't made it too before, climbing around the lotus and mushrooms to search for more areas to find Alice. They then noticed another dark path to take, and they entered through. When they came out, they discovered themselves in the bizarre room again, only this time, they were walking on one of the walls!

"What in the world?!" Sora gasped, seeing the actual floor to his left. "The whole room has gone sideways!" Donald pointed out as Goofy tilted his head, trying to look at the room like it normally was.

"I wonder if this was what the Cheshire Cat meant by the 'upside-down' room?" Philia asked. "But the room isn't upside down." Goofy pointed out. "Not yet. But I bet we can find a path that'll lead us to this room being upside down." Sora realized, "If we find that, we'll find the shadows!"

"But where should we go from here?" Donald asked, looking about, "I don't see any path leading there!" "This world has plenty of confusing ways getting around. Let's adapt to this world's rules, and discover a path from there." Philia told the team.

Sora walked about the area, then looked at an unlit candle lamp. He rubbed his chin, wondering. He then used a Fire spell, lighting it up. All of a sudden, the painting near him, which was blank, now revealed a picture in it.

"Guys, check this out!" Sora called out, getting everyone to the picture. "This certainly wasn't here." Philia noticed. Sora climbed onto it, looking down at the painting. Then like a man standing on water, he instantly sunk into it. "Sora!" Donald, Goofy and Philia gasped, wondering where he went.

They were about to go in when Sora suddenly popped out again. "What happened?!" Goofy asked. "I suddenly found myself in the middle of the Lotus Forest." he answered, "There wasn't anything where I was at, so I dove into this puddle, and found myself back here." Philia sighed in relief. "Don't scare us like that!" she told him. "Sorry." he apologized.

Knowing that Sora was okay, Donald looked around the wall they were standing on. He saw a teddy bear on a shelf, though sideways. He glared at it for a second, then decided to give a shelf a whack with his wand. It loosened the shelf, making the bear fall to the actual ground. "Did that do anything?" Philia asked from a distance. "No, but that's all I could think of." Donald answered. "Let's head back to the forest and investigate more." Sora told the team, and they did as they were told.

They started looking about for more ways, sometimes going back to paths that they were once on before. At one point, they found themselves along the same wall with the faucet and shelf that held the box containing claw marks. Sora though it was an idea to turn the faucet handle to activate it. He did so, causing water to pour out of a nozzle, which entered into a pot that magically appeared on the actual floor. When the water cleared, the team entered in, and found themselves back in the Queen's court again.

After some confusion, Philia suggested doubling back to the bizarre room to investigate what happened to the teddy bear Donald dropped. They went back inside, grew big again, and saw the teddy bear one chair on the side of the wall. They also saw a book that wasn't propped up before, discovering a Mythril Shard inside.

Goofy thought that the other chair next to the one the bear was sitting on was more comfortable, so he placed it on there, causing a odd-looking grandfather clock to appear from the wall next to it. Sora examined it, saw that it was loose, and pulled it aside, revealing a hole behind it. "I think we're getting somewhere!" Sora stated. "In this world, I'm not sure." Philia stated as they walked over to the drinks shrank down once more, and entered the hole.

Inside the room, they discovered a new area, which looked like it housed a tea party. However, the tea and silverware had become prints on the tablecloth. On the far end of the table was a picture frame, with an aging man with a green top hat and a suit, and a brown rabbit with a red coat, both crying. The heroes were standing on the second floor of a twisted house.

"What is this place?" Goofy asked. They descended to the table, with Sora finding a treasure chest containing a new material called 'dark matter', and examining the tea set.

"Hey, look at this!" Donald called to the team, seeing a sign that said, 'Please take a seat to receive your present'. "What kind of present?" Goofy asked, anxiously. "Let's find out." Sora answered.

They all sat in different chairs, waiting patiently for something to happen. All of a sudden, a silver platter appeared, with a dome lid. It opened itself up to the team, but before they could look, the chairs flipped back, making them fall out abruptly.

"Wha!" Sora gasped tumbling to the ground. "What kind of trick was that?!" Donald demanded. "Hey, look!" Goofy said, pointing to the picture. The man and the hare looked different, joyous and happy. "I think that was a trick pulled off by them." Philia groaned. "Some trick that was…" Donald moaned, "I'm not happy!"

"They at least gave us this." Goofy stated, pulling an elixir from the tray. "That's a compilation for their prank." Sora guessed. "C'mon. Let's enter the house, and see if the person tricking us is actually in there." Philia told the team, and she led the team in.

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The Master of Tricks**

When they entered, they found themselves in the bizarre room again, only now, it was where they wanted to be; Upside-down. Upon entering, they looked around, and noticed the Cheshire Cat leaning against one corner of the room. "We meet again." Philia greeted, "Were you waiting long?" "It depends." the cat answered, "How long long is to you, or how short short is to me?" Philia was getting very irritated by these riddles.

"So, uh, where are the shadows?" Goofy asked. "They're hiding somewhere. And the momeraths outgrabe." the cat answered, "Want to find the shadows? Try turning on the light." And with that said, he disappeared.

"What lights?" Donald asked. They got into full view of the ceiling they were standing on, seeing two hanging lamps acting like ceiling tables with candles. "I think we should light those up." Philia suggested, "Sora, let's do it." "Right!" Sora agreed. They each climbed onto the hanging lamps, lighting each one up with a Fire spell. Once they were done, they hopped back down, waiting for something to happen.

The Cheshire Cat appeared once again, sitting on top of one of the hanging lamps. "All the lights are on. You'll see the shadows soon." he told them, "They'll arise in this room, but somewhere else. They might possibly target the doorknob." And with that, he vanished.

"They might attack the doorknob?" Sora questioned. "Then we need to get right-side up, again!" Philia told Sora, "Hurry, let's get moving!" They quickly ran to the entrance to stop the shadow.

Moments later, the team arrived back in the bizarre room again, everything right-side up. Looking up at the table, they saw the Cheshire Cat waiting for them once more. The team raced up to the top of the table, meeting up with the cat as he stood on his hind feet.

"The shadow should be here, soon." he warned them, "Have you prepared your hearts for the worst? If not, too bad!" With that, the cat vanished, taking the two bottles that grew and shrunk the team with him. "Hey, wait!" Sora called to it.

Suddenly, something fell from above, landing on its hands, and flipped over the table. The team watched as it landed on its' feet, folded out its arms, revealing itself to the team. It was a large Heartless, mainly pink, purple and black. It had two gold curled-toed feet, but four pink and purple legs. It had chest armor and shoulder guards, and its black, zig-zagging arms looked like it was made out of paper. It head, or rather heads, were stacked on top of one another like a totem pole, five in all. It also carried a pair of striped black and white maracas on it, as well.

"That's the shadow?!" Goofy gasped. "That cat didn't say anything about it being something like this!" Philia recalled. "He set us up!" Donald squawked. "It doesn't matter!" Sora retorted, readying for combat, "We have to take it out!"

Philia pulled out the Heartless book, quickly looking through it. "Got it! This is the Trickmaster Heartless." she read, "That's all that this book has to say about it! Looks like we're gonna have to ab-lib it here!"

Sora, Philia and Goofy leapt out at the Heartless, striking it in the chest each, then landed on the ground at its' feet. Donald unleashed Blizzard spells at it, striking it all over. The Heartless wasn't phased much by it, but it raised its' arms high, striking down at the heroes at its' feet. Sora and Philia managed to leap to one side while Goofy raised his shield, protecting against most of the attack, but was sent flying into the grandfather clock, causing cuckoo birds to spin around his head.

Donald unleashed fire spells at his chest, while Sora and Philia tried damaging its' legs. Unfortunately, the legs were so flexible, the attacks bounced off of it. "We need to target any part of it that isn't super-bendy." Sora told Philia. "Basically the head or the chest." she understood, looking up at the tall Heartless, "I can reach up there if I jump high enough, but what about you?"

Sora watched Donald's magic work on the Heartless, then came up with an idea. "I'll keep leaping off the table at it!" Sora stated, "I'm sure I can keep striking it a few times before I fall." "A little time consuming, but I guess that'll work!" Philia agreed, "Now, let's get to work!" "Right!" Sora declared, taking off to get onto the table as Philia leapt up at the Trickmaster.

Philia used her ascent, unleashing a single slash upwards, followed by three horizontal slashes to the chest. This gave enough time for Sora to get to the table, leap forward, and unleash several slashes at it before he descended.

The Trickmaster raised a maraca like a club to Sora, who had no way of defending himself against the attack. Fortunately, Donald and a recovered Goofy came in just in time, working together to parry the attack. This caused the maraca to go back in the face of the Heartless, making it daze, and cripple.

"Now's our chance!" Philia declared as she led the charge, striking the attack as strongly as they could. They managed to damage it well enough before it straightened itself up, and begun dancing about, waving the maracas. "Keep at it!" Sora told the team, and they continued the attack.

The team kept up the same pattern as it danced about, striking anyone with its' maracas. Sora kept up the pattern he was doing before; getting to the table and leaping at it's chest, unleashing several slashes, then falling. Philia's leaping abilities were perfect enough for her to unleash leaping slashes at the Heartless. Donald's magic was low, but Philia gave him an ether, so he quickly recovered his strength. Goofy's Rocket technique was especially helpful, as it helped him reach the chest alongside Philia.

When it recovered from the second dazed moment, the Trickmaster backflipped away from the crew, landing right next to the stove. "After it!" Donald roared, leading Goofy, Sora and Philia towards it. Sora noticed something was up as it turned to the oven, placing his maracas over it. Suddenly, they lit on fire, and the Heartless turned to them, the flames bringing shadows on its' face.

"Guys, look out!" Sora called out as the other three realized how dangerous it had now become. The Heartless then slammed its' maraca at Donald, sending him flying in a burning state. Goofy jumped up and tried striking the Heartless, but it was too high to reach without his technique or without it lowering to him. The Heartless ended up smacking him away as well with its' flaming maracas.

Sora and Philia took on the Heartless cautiously, unleashing Fire spells at its' chest. It didn't do much to it, but the Trickmaster retaliated by waving its' maracas, then unleashing fireballs at the two. They quickly doubled back to avoid the fire, but the attack quickly caught up to them, and they were each struck a couple times by the fire, causing smoke to obscure them.

When it cleared, Philia and Sora each downed a hi-potion, while Donald, recovered from the burning, was stomping on Goofy's back to stop the flames. "It's even more dangerous with those flames!" Sora stated.

Philia looked up at the table, and saw the Cheshire Cat sitting there, watching the battle. "Aren't you gonna help us, at all?!" Philia demanded, "Tell us how to beat this thing!" "But my dear, this shadow is too hot under the collar." the cat stated, "You should wait for things to cool down."

"Wait for things to…" Philia started angrily, then she came to a realization. Sora's expression showed the same realization, as well. They looked to one another, nodding in confirmation.

The Trickmaster unleashed more fireballs at the two, who begun racing towards it, zig-zagging about to avoid the fire coming at them. "Just a bit closer…" Philia told Sora. "We're almost there!" he answered.

The two leapt above fireballs that came at the spot they were at, leaping in unison in front of the Heartless. It raised its' two maracas to attack them, the flames burning strongly. "Now!" Sora declared, and the two fired Blizzard spells at the maraca heads, making the flames disappear. The Heartless looked startled at this sudden turn of events, while the two landed on the ground simultaneously.

The Heartless looked angrily at the two, raising its' two maracas' ready to bring them down. Sora got in front, ready to protect Philia. As it slammed its' maracas down, Sora unleashed an aura of energy, which formed into a rippling sphere around him and Philia. It repelled the attack easily, and damaged the Heartless at the same time, making it cripple.

Philia was amazed at the new technique, but she didn't have time to admire it, yet. Sora and Philia came together, concentrating their magic in unison. They then unleashed a Blizzard spell, which combined to become a large icy burst of energy. It struck the Heartless, and it suddenly froze in ice.

Philia bounded forward at the frozen Heartless, ready to finish the fight. She readied her dagger, which glowed a deep blue aura. She roared as she unleashed a horizontal slash, followed by a downward slice straight through the middle of the line, forming a cross.

The attack made the Heartless crack, then shatter, its' upper parts scattering everywhere. From the debris, a large crystal heart rose from it, flying into the air, where it disappeared. The Trickmaster had finally been defeated.

As Donald and Goofy joined the other two, Sora and Philia looked at one another. "What kind of move was that?" Sora asked. "I was gonna ask you the same thing!" Philia answered. Sora pondered for a second, recalling the book he read all about techniques. Finally, he recalled the move within the stronger attack section.

"Ripple Drive." Sora remembered the name, "Yeah… That was the name of the move! But what was yours?" Philia thought for a while, then she recalled the name. "The Dagger Skill, Cross Edge." she answered, "That was the name of the move!"

"Hey, look at this." Goofy called to the team, picking up something where the Heartless once was. It was a bracelet of some sort, but it looked like a pair of demonic horns with a red gem on top. "Would you look at that." Sora stated as he looked at the accessory.

Jiminy popped out, examining the bracelet, then said, "I think that might be the Ifrit's Horn. It provides a little defense, plus it gains resistance to fire attacks." "That's handy." Sora stated, "Hey, Goofy. Why don't you hold onto it." "Gawrsh, thanks!" Goofy thanked Sora, and he placed it around his wrist.

Just then, the team heard a yawn, and turned to see the doorknob awoken slightly. "What is this racket?" he asked, "Do tone down the brawl, would you? How's a doorknob able to get any sleep?" "I would like to know how he slept in that in the first place?" Philia asked. "Talk about ungrateful!" Donald huffed.

Sora, on the other hand, watched as it yawned widely, and saw something in its' mouth. It looked like a standard keyhole, the edges glowing mysteriously. This drew the other three's attention as Sora wondered why the keyhole was shining.

Just then, the tip of his Keyblade started to shine with white energy, drawing the team's attention. Sora looked down at it, then as if by some unknown force, the Keyblade pulled his hand forwards, shooting a beam out of it, connecting with the keyhole. There was the sound of something being locked, and the keyhole died away as the doorknob closed his mouth.

"Wha.. What was that?" Sora asked, looking at his Keyblade. "The moment that beam connected with the keyhole, it sounded like something clicked." Philia noticed. "Yeah. Like something locking up!" Donald compared.

Something bounced out of the hole of the doorknob. It looked like a piece of some kind of object. "Hey, it's a gummi block!" Goofy noticed, picking it up and examining it, "This sure doesn't look like any other I've seen, no sir."

"A gummi block?" Philia questioned. "It's a mechanical part from another gummi ship, kinda like the one we use." Donald explained. "If we're lucky, we might find one that belongs to the king. Then, we might know where he is!" He took the gummi block from Goofy, and pocketed it.

Just then, the heroes heard someone clapping from behind. They looked up to see the Cheshire Cat still standing on the table. "Splendid. You're quite the heroes." the cat told the team, "Your powers really do bloom true, if I do say! Keep it up, and you'll end up florists someday!"

"Save it!" Philia retorted, walking towards the cat on the table, "What about Alice. I thought the Heartless would lead us to her." "Alice is neither here nor there, nor available for any occasion." the Cheshire Cat answered, "She has passed from this world, fallen into the darkness of obscurity."

Philia looked back at the team, worried. They gave the same expression back at her. The Heartless have already taken her away from this world. Philia turned back to where the Cheshire Cat was at, but he vanished. "Just who's side is he on, anyway?" Sora asked, puzzled.

"Let's go back to our gummi ship." Donald suggested, "We might find her in another world." "I hope so…" Sora agreed, "There was no sign of Riku and Kairi, here, either." "Don't worry. There's still plenty of other worlds we haven't explored, yet!" Goofy assured Sora, "With any luck, we might find them and the king, as well!"

Yeah…you're right!" Sora agreed, "Come on, let's head to the next world. Let's go, Philia." Philia didn't move immediately. She looked up at the table, thinking. _We ended up coming to this world, only to get more questions than answers._ she thought, _I had hoped to find my memory. Sora wanted to find his friends. Donald and Goofy are searching for their king. Now, that poor girl, Alice, is added to our list of people and things to search. Will we ever get any answers from this?_

"Philia?" Sora tapped her shoulder, getting her attention. She turned to see Sora, Donald and Goofy's worried expression. Not wanting to get the crew worried about her, she shook her head of negative thoughts, and smiled. "Let's search for our friends." she told them, "We won't find them here, after all." Donald and Goofy smiled in agreement. Sora, on the other hand, looked concerned at Philia. _I really hope this journey doesn't disappoint her._ He thought to himself.

* * *

 **And just like that, another person vanishes on them. I hope you guys liked this episode. Honestly, my favorite part is Philia's great confrontation against the Queen of Hearts. I could've done the fight, but this was much more fun to make! Anyways, this is another world down! Next world, here we come!  
**

 **Don't forget to leave a review, tell your friends, and be patient for the next world!**

* * *

 **Next time on SAK: HO  
**

 **Donald: Wow! A coliseum!**

 **Sora: I wonder if Riku's here? He's always interested in getting stronger.**

 **Philia: So far, I've gotten memories of my Dagger Skills quicker than anything else. Maybe fighting is the answer.**

 **Sora: Let's enter the games, and become heroes!**

 **Goofy: Gawrsh, that feller with the big sword is scary!**

 **Philia: No time to hesitate. I sense something else here that is darker!**

 **On the next 'Sword Art Kingdom: Heart's Origin'**

 **Olympus Coliseum! Heroes & Competitions!**

 **Philia & Sora: Let's go chart our next adventure!**


	4. Olympus Coliseum! Heroes & Competition!

**Sorry for the long wait. Now, it's time for the Olympus Coliseum! Read and enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Welcome to the Arena**

 _(Philia speaking) My name is Philia, and that's all you'll get from me. Some time ago, I landed in a world called Traverse Town, with no memory of my past. It was in this town where I met Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, and Sora, who wields a weapon called the Keyblade._

 _We've started traveling to different worlds to find Sora's friends, Donald and Goofy's king, and my memories._

 _In the last world, we intervened with a trial to save a girl named Alice from being killed. We managed to pull it off without meddling with the rules of the world too deeply, but Alice had mysteriously vanished. Based on all clues given to us by the Cheshire Cat, we guessed that the Heartless must've taken her somewhere else._

 _The fact that the Heartless weren't acting on instinct showed that someone was behind this, controlling these creatures. With a new person added to our list of missing people, we left Wonderland, and traveled to a different world. I hope this time, we will gain something rather than lose it._

* * *

 _(Cue 'Digimon Adventure Tri Opening 1 - Butterfly TV Size', music on Youtube)_

 **My wings are full of images of holding back, They are still weak but I'm sure I can fly**  
 _(As the viewer zoom in on a grassy field, a red shape passes the viewer, revealing Sora in the distance. A light blue shape passes, revealing Philia, then a green one reveals Goofy, and a dark blue one reveals Donald.)_

 **Oh My Love (guitar intro)**  
 _(The viewer zooms in and circles around to see the four of them standing there, looking off into the distance. The image becomes blurry as the title appears in front of them.)_

 **I become a happy butterfly and flying the shimmering wind And I will go to see you right away**  
 _(Sora was asleep on the shore of the Destiny Islands, but was awoken by a voice behind him. He turned to see Kairi and Riku standing there by the raft, the latter looking somewhat annoyed by Sora's laziness while Kairi waved him over to help. Sora got to his feet and raced to his friends. The screen fades to white.)_

 **Better you forget about unnecessary things, There's no time to joke anymore.**  
 _(The viewer zoom out of the white in Philia's eyes as she practices with her Sword Breaker, with Leon and Yuffie watching her. Her blade glowing yellow-green as she thrusted her blade forward in a Dagger Skill. She holds her position for a moment as Yuffie applauds her, then Philia lowers her weapon, looking up at the sky with a sad expression. The viewer looks into the sky, seeing the stars as they shined for a seconds, before quickly disappearing one by one.)_

 **I wonder, wow wow wow wow wow, what will reach the sky**  
 _(The viewer zooms out as Maleficent comes into view, standing at the table with the shadowy silhouettes of her villainous allies, and Riku at her side.)_

 **But, wow wow wow wow wow, don't even have a plan for tomorrow**  
 _(The scene changes to six of the seven Princesses of Heart, their eyes closed as if they were asleep. Kairi appears in the middle of it, her arms crossed in front of her as she opens her eyes and her body scatters into lights, replacing her position with Sora as he stood there beside Philia, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy on Donald's head as the viewer shifts the angle to behind them, seeing the hundreds of Heartless in front of them.)_

 **Living in a world of nothing after the infinite dream, My love to you is growing weak**  
 _(The four begin to display to the viewers their combat skills against the Heartless one at a time, starting with Sora, then Philia, then Goofy, then finally Donald, who rains down lightning onto the Heartless before the heroes charge in to continue fighting.)_

 **My wings are full of images of holding back, They are still weak but I'm sure I can fly. Oh My Love**  
 _(The viewer passes the Heartless to see Riku standing at the end, reaching out to Sora as to invite him to the darkness, with the shadowy image of Heartless Ansem mimicking his movements. Philia clears the path for Sora as he races forward, reaching out to his friend. The view shifts to Sora's view, his hand reaching out to Riku as he and the darkness fade away into the light.)_

 **Guitar solo ending**  
 _(The screen shines an image of King Mickey holding the Keyblade as Donald and Goofy looking in from the sides. The view shifts to a dark image of Aincrad as it crumbles away, with Philia's face looking to the viewer. The view zooms out as Sora pats Philia's shoulder, causing her to look and smile at Sora as he grinned back. The view zooms back even further to show quartet and Jiminy standing there, smiling at the viewers as they stood on the same hill as before, before the view shifts back to the sky again, with the flower petals flying by once again.)_

* * *

After taking down a few Heartless ships in their path, the team continued towards the next world, which was starting to get closer according to the radar. Philia looked outside the dome roof, wondering about what had happened in the last world.

Jiminy hopped onto her shoulder, getting her attention. "Are you okay, Philia?" he asked, noticing the sad yet concerned look on Philia's face. "Sort of." she answered, "It's just…I'm wondering what's gonna happen in the next world we visit. Will we find more answers, or will it just leave us with more people and things to find?"

"We've only been to one world." Goofy pointed out, hearing the conversation, "I'm sure we'll discover somethin' in the next world." "He's right." Jiminy agreed, "It's not like you to give up so quickly."

"I'm not giving up. But…" Philia started, looking to her fellow human companion, "Sora, don't you find yourself with more questions than answers from that last world?" "Yeah, kind of…" Sora responded, "I mean, I'm curious as to where Alice disappeared to, and that thing that happened with my Keyblade." He recalled the moment when his Keyblade lit up, shooting a beam out into the keyhole. "I have no idea what I did, but it felt like my Keyblade was drawn to that keyhole. It locked something up, but I don't know what."

"We're at the next destination." Donald pointed out. The team looked up, and noticed the world approaching. From their view, they could see a coliseum, with two golden statues of gladiators crossing blades.

"What world is this?" Sora asked, "Looks pretty interesting." "It's called the Olympus Coliseum." Donald answered. "Gawrsh, I wonder what this place is like?" Goofy asked. "Looks like a place of combat." Philia guessed, standing up. Jiminy hopped back into Sora's pocket as the team climbed onto the transporter, and with the coordinates set in by Donald, they descended down to the world below.

Upon arrival, the team stood on the steps as they faced a massive coliseum that clearly was made in the Ancient Greek era. The double doors into the entryway were stone, with lightning bolts on it.

"Already, I can feel the aura of battle in this place." Philia stated, "Can't you guys feel it?" "I don't know." Goofy answered. "Well I can." Sora retorted, "This definitely seems like the place Riku would like to go. He did say that he want to find other worlds to get stronger. Maybe this is where he went to." "In that case, let's search for clues on whether he has been here." Philia told the team.

They looked about the outside, and around the legs of the giant statues hanging over the doors. On one side, Sora and Donald discovered a mythril shard, while on the other side, Philia and Goofy discovered three worried dalmatian puppies, and they sent them back to the gummi ship. After investigating the area, they entered into the lobby.

The lobby was small, lit with bowls of fire in some parts, and a shelf filled with some trophies. standing on top of a small column, writing on a plaque of rules, was a creature of some kind. He was shorter than Donald, and looked like he had the bottom half of a goat, with horns on his head, but his top half was that of a chubby man.

Sora walked up and was about to say something when the goat man said without looking, "Good timing. Give me a hand, will ya? Move that pedestal over there for me. I gotta spruce this place up for the games." He pointed to the cube pedestal, which was completely made of stone. Plus, it didn't look very light, either.

Sora and Philia walked over to the stone, which was just as tall as Sora. The two looked at one another, and Philia waved her hand to Sora, letting him go first. Sora stepped up, and pressed his entire body against the pedestal, pushing with all his might. _It weighs a ton!_ he thought as he pushed with all his might, but with no such luck.

He panted a few times as he stepped back, and allowed Philia a chance. She stepped forward, pressing her body against the pedestal, digging her feet into the ground to push. The results were the same as Sora; nothing. "And I thought Large Bodies were troublesome to move." Philia sighed, stepping back.

Sora walked up to the goat man, who hadn't turned once to see them. "It's way too heavy!" he exclaimed. "What? Too heavy?" the goat-man questioned in a surprised manner, "Since when have you been such a little…" He turned to see someone at his level, then he looked down and saw Sora, along with the other four in the room.

"Oh. Wrong guy." the goat-man noticed, "What're you doing here?" He hopped down onto the ground as he continued, "This here's the world-famous Coliseum; Heroes only. And I got my hands full preparing for the games. So run along, pip squeaks." Sora glared at him, annoyed that he didn't even once considered them heroes.

"You could at least say it kindly, instead of just showing us out." Philia retorted, not liking the attitude. "Woah, easy there, sweet cheeks." the goat-man replied, noticing Philia, "You can stay if you want to talk to me, but these three fellas can't be here." "First of all, these 'fellas' are my friends." Philia retorted, "And secondly, why can't they be here? And what's with this tournament that only contains heroes?"

"Okay, okay. Easy there, lady." the goat man calmed her down, walking past them to the pedestal, "Look, it's like this. Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monsters right here in the Coliseum." _Monsters, huh?_ Philia wondered, _Could they be the Heartless?_

"You got heroes standing right in front of you." Donald declared to the goat man, startling Philia. "Yup. He's a real hero chosen by the Keyblade!" Goofy pointed Sora out. "And we're heroes, too." Donald added, "Right, Philia?" "Uh…yeah, I guess so." Philia agreed, feeling slightly uncomfortable that she was thrown into the group like this.

"Hero? That runt?" the goat man asked incredulously, and he began to laugh at Sora, thinking the whole thing was an absolute joke. "What's so funny? I've fought a bunch of monsters!" Sora said angrily.

Once the goat man calmed down, the goat man said, "Hey, if you can't even move this…" he began to try moving the pedestal himself, with just the same results as Philia and Sora, "…you can't call yourself…a hero!" Pushing with all his might, the goat man was unable to move the pedestal, getting amused expressions from the four. He quickly ran out of stamina, and collapsed on his back, coughing.

"Okay, so it takes more than brawn." he panted, "Well, well, let's see what you can do." "I'm Sora." the boy introduced himself, "My friends are Philia, Donald, and Goofy." "The name's Philoctetes. Call me Phil." the goat man replied, "Listen, the trial I'm gonna give ya is tough. You got what it takes?" Sora nodded.

"All right. Tell ya what, how 'bout if I add in your lady friend to see what she can do." Phil asked. Sora looked to Philia, who was taken aback at the offer. "Come on. Let's take them on together." Sora told her. "Um, okay." Philia answered, not too confident in immediately joining into the trial like Sora, but she had to set herself up.

"Okay, kids. Let's see what you've got." Phil told the two, and he led them, Donald and Goofy out to the coliseum arena. The arena was big, and the stands were on either side of the field.

Phil flipped a hidden switch, and the stage magically changed, featuring platforms, columns, and a whole lot of barrels. "Alright, kids, the rules are simple: Bust all the barrels within the time limit." Phil explained, holding up an hourglass, "I'll give ya thirty seconds to bust all barrels, capisce? Okay, kid, you're up first."

Sora stepped up to the starting point, producing his Keyblade. "Ready, go!" Phil shouted, starting the timer. Sora bounced forward at a three set, and with several cuts, sliced down the barrels. He kept moving forward to a pair of stacked barrels, unleashing a Ripple Drive to bust then up simultaneously. He kept doing this to the rest of the barrels, using his swordplay and his special attacks to take them out. He practically made it just over 25 seconds.

"Not bad…for a beginner, that is." Phil commented, "Okay, sweet-cheeks. You're up!" With assistance from Donald and Goofy, Phil got twenty more barrels set for Philia as she stepped up. _I just have to remember all of my training._ Philia thought to herself, _These barrels were positioned in a path. If I follow it, swiftly taking out the barrels, I can win this in a short amount of time._

"Ready? Start!" Phil declared, starting the timer. "Okay, let's go." she muttered, and she dashed forward, swiping through all three barrels in a blink of an eye. She then proceeded to the four barrels next, striking them with a Cross Edge. She kept up her momentum, slashing and speeding past the barrels with a pace that was quicker than Sora's. By the time she was done, the timer had reached just over 21 seconds.

"Sweet saytr, that was impressive!" Phil said in amazement. "I'll say." Sora agreed, slightly jealous of her quick work of the field. Donald and Goofy were also impressed that she managed to be faster than Sora.

Philia stepped off the arena, then asked, "So, have we proven ourselves?" "Not even close." Phil answered, "If you can pull off this exercise that quickly, then how 'bout we make things a little more challenging." He pulled another secret lever, and the arena changed once again. This time, there was a lot more levels of platforms all about the arena, including a small one over a pillar.

"This one's gonna test your mobility in all kinds of levels." Phil told him, "It ain't a straight-forward area, so think smart, capiche?" Philia nodded in understanding, and took her position. "This time, I'm givin' you a whole minute to take out all 25 barrels. Don't dawdle! Ready, set, go!"

Philia started racing around the rim of the arena, taking out the small barrels about the taller platforms. She then started leaping up one platform at a time, taking out the barrels on each level. A couple times, Philia ended up knocking barrels down to the ground below, and she had to descend to get them, then use her jumping skills to hop back onto the platforms again. When she had finished, she had completed the course in just over forty-six seconds.

"Not too bad. Screwed up a little here and there, but you pulled yourself through." Phil stated, "Okay, kid. Let's see if you can do better." Sora hopped off the stands, coming up to Philia as she left the stage. "Good luck out there." she told him. "I'm gonna beat your record, no problem!" Sora told her. As they passed, they raised their hands and high-fived one another. The two were becoming quite the pair.

"Alright, take your position!" Phil told Sora. Philia sat down next to Donald and Goofy, while Sora readied himself. "Same rules apply; 25 barrels under a minute." Phil reminded him, "Ready…go!"

Sora instantly followed along the same path as Philia, taking out barrels left and right. His determination to show up Philia was strong, and he wasn't gonna let up. After taking out the barrels along the sides, he started platform climbing, taking out the barrels on each level. However, he had a plan for taking out barrels he missed; his magic. If a barrel nearly fell off, he would unleash a Fire spell, burning the barrel. It was quick and efficient, and Philia felt that she should've known to do that. By the time Sora finished the last barrel, the clearing time was just under forty seconds.

"Hey, you're better than I though, kid!" Phil noticed as Donald and Goofy cheered for Sora, while Philia clapped her hands in applause. Sora grinned at his efforts, and hopped off the arena, joining the others. Philia came down and shook hands with Sora. "Not bad, Sora." she told him. "Thanks!" Sora answered.

"You know, the two of your ain't bad." Phil told the two as he approached them. "We cleared your trials." Philia stated. "Looks like we're headed for the games." Sora cheered.  
"Afraid not!" Phil retorted, causing surprised looks from Donald and Sora. "Why not?!" Sora demanded. "Two words: You guys ain't heroes!" Philia watched Goofy count four fingers off, while Donald and Sora begged for a chance to be in the games.

"Don't we get any reward from passing your tests?" Philia asked, "We did our best out there, and this is how you shut us down?!" "Hey, easy, lady!" Phil answered, "I'll admit, you guys were pretty good out there. As such, I'll give ya this."

He pulled out a magical orb of energy, which floated upwards and split into three, going into Sora, Donald and Philia. "Is this…new magic?" Sora asked. "I feel tingly all over." Philia noticed, "It's like static electricity."

"That's because that magic is the Thunder spell." Phil explained, "You wanna try being a real hero? Try mastering that spell. Now, if you excuse me, I have to get ready for the games. Vamoose, all of ya!" He went back to reassembling the arena, leaving the heroes to exit the coliseum.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Entering the Battle!**

Outside the Coliseum, the heroes walked out, both Donald and Sora depressed that they couldn't enter the games. "Who does he think he is, treating us like a bunch of kids?" Sora growled, "I mean, we passed his tests, and all he gives us is some magic?"

"We don't have time entering the games, anyway!" Donald retorted, "We have more important things to consider, like finding King Mickey." "Yeah, but Sora's friend might be in this tournament." Philia pointed out, "Plus, I was kinda interested in entering the tournament, as well." Sora, Donald and Philia sighed that things didn't go their way.

Philia then turned to Sora and asked, "You said Riku wanted to get stronger. Why?" "He never gave a clear answer." Sora replied, "But he always wanted to go to the outside world to get stronger."

"What did he do back in your home?" Goofy asked. "Mainly trained. We sparred a lot during our times on the island." Sora answered, "He was mainly stronger than me, but he always wanted me to get stronger with him. So, I trained with him. We had other friends we sparred with on the islands. Kairi never joined in. She always just watched us fight."

"When I came to Traverse Town, I started training with Leon, Yuffie and Aerith in order to tackle the Heartless." Philia explained, "Although, I wanted to fight so that I could discover myself. Where I came from. Who my friends were before I came there. I have so many questions about myself, that I intended to get stronger so I can search for them."

"Have you had any of your memories come back?" Sora asked. Philia shook her head. "I remember bits and pieces, like my Dagger Skills, and that I was a treasure hunter before this. Although, those were recalled through certain words or sentences I hear from time to time, or through combat. I had hoped to enter that tournament to fight, and unlock new things about myself."

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy, who appeared out of Sora's pocket, looked at her with sympathy. "I guess you have a lot on your mind." Sora stated, "No wonder you were kinda down in the Gummi Ship." Philia nodded in response.

"I know! If we can't enter the tournament, we can fight each other." the Keyblade wielder suggested. "You want to spar with me?" Philia asked, surprised. "Sure! After those trials, and how I've seen you fight, I really want to face you." Sora stated, "So how 'bout it?"

Philia thought for a bit. She had seen Sora fight, and was impressed by him. And considering they were kinda competing in Phil's trials, and ended up with a win each, they really needed to have a tie breaker.

"Okay, I'm game." Philia stated, pulling out her dagger, "But I will not go easy on you. Better do the same for me." "Oh, I will!" Sora replied, producing his Keyblade. Jimmy, Donald and Goofy stood on the sidelines, while a shadowy figure emanating blue flames stood behind one of the columns, watching the two ready to go.

Sora launched himself towards Philia, and the two clashed blades. After a few second struggle, they parted from one another, and Philia made her dagger glow, unleashing an Armor Pierce Dagger Skill. Sora dodged to one side, then followed through with a slash that struck Philia in the back, knocking her aways.

The three audience members gasped as the treasure hunter skidded to a halt, rolling her shoulders to feel her injury. She then snapped her eyes on Sora, who looked slightly nervous as her glare.

 _Time to try out the new magic…_ she thought, and raised her dagger, shouting, " _Thunder!_ " Several small lightning bolts showered down onto the field in front of her. One of the lightning bolts struck Sora, shocking him slightly and making his hair stand more spiked than before for a few seconds. He then shook himself from the shock, and readied himself again. _So that's what the Thunder spell Phil gave us does._ he thought to himself, _I definitely will use it for sure!_

The two continued to clash, unleashing all they had at one another, from their magic, to Sora's special techniques, to Philia's Dagger Skills. Neither side was giving in, wanting to beat the other to show them up. "They're really goin' at it." Goofy stated. "I'm wondering if they realize they were just making this a sparring match?" Jiminy questioned, standing on Donald's beret. "If Phil saw them, he would definitely see we could enter the tournament, heroes or not!" Donald squawked, hopping up and down, irritated that he wasn't watching.

"Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say?" asked a voiced next to the trio. They turned, and yelped in surprise, as a tall guy with pale blue skin, a black toga, and blue flames on his head that was his hair. The yelp caused the two fighters to turn to see the new audience member. Philia instantly felt something foreboding from him; a kind of darkness similar to that of the Heartless, yet different.

"Who are you?" Donald asked, stepping aways from him. "Whoa, hold on there, fuzz boy." the new figure responded, striding towards Sora and Philia's position, "Wait, let me guess. You want to enter the games, right?"

He placed a hand on Sora's shoulder, and the team could see that Sora barely reached above his waist. "Well, then, hey, get a load of this." he stated, and out of a ball of blue light, he summoned a piece of paper, with writing on it that approved them of entering the games. "Is this…a pass?" Sora asked. "Can't ignore young talent such as yourselves." the guy stated, "It's all yours."

Sora was about to take it, but Philia snatched Sora's wrist, stopping his reach. "Don't you know it's dangerous to take such things from strangers? Particularly ones who emanate a bad vibe like him?" Philia questioned, looking from Sora to the guy, "He's just reeking with darkness." The guy huffed a bit, seeing that this girl was catching onto him.

"Eh, can't be helped." he stated, taking his hand off of Sora, "I mean, I am the lord of the dead! Dark vibe comes with the job, little lady, little fluff, little dandelion tuff." The emphasis on the word 'tuff' irritated Philia a bit.

"Why ARE you giving us a pass?" Sora asked, now following in Philia's thoughts. "You really wanna know? I'll tell ya." the lord of the dead answered, "See, that old goat has a student named 'Hercules' or something. Because of those rippling muscles and quick wit, he's become the apple in his eye, and no one else can define themselves as a true hero BUT him. Now, I see you guys, and I see the potential makings of REAL heroes. Now I have given a deal for you; I'm giving you a pass to enter the games, prove your heroic skills, and no strings attached. Do we have a deal?"

He waved the pass in a tantalizing manner in front of Sora and Philia. Sora was all for it, but Philia had some concerns. The guy had an ulterior motive behind this, she was sure of it. She wasn't positive, but she had a gut feeling about it.

Sora, on the other hand, had no objections after that explanation. He took the pass without saying a word, but growing determined to show his stuff. "Then it's a deal." the lord of the dead stated, "Good luck, kid. You too, dandelion tuff. I'm pulling for you, shorties." He walked away towards the entrance, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Donald, Goofy and Jiminy surrounded the two. "Oh boy! Now we can enter the games!" Donald cheered. "I'm still not so sure about that guy." Philia stated, "He's got a plan. I just know it." "He did say 'no strings attached', right?" Sora retorted, "Besides, I thought you wanted to enter the tournament to see if you can regain your memories. Plus, Riku might just enter the games, too, and that's why I wanna enter."

Philia pondered on Sora's statement. He was right about the reasons for entering the tournament, and they were given a legitimate pass to enter. However, the fact that they were given one by such a dark character was definitely disturbing her. She would have to keep her wits about her if she were to enter into the tournament, just to see if that guy had an ulterior motive.

"Okay, I'm all for it." she stated. "Great!" Sora cheered, "Let's go in, and show we can be REAL heroes!" "Yeah!" Donald agreed, and the two tromped ahead, with Jiminy hopping back into Sora's pocket, followed by Philia and Goofy. "Ya think they're more concern about bein' heroes, or findin' Riku and your memories?" Goofy asked. "Honestly, I don't know." Philia sighed, seeing the two childish characters race back into the coliseum.

When they entered, Sora flashed the pass given to them, and Phil was startled. "Hey, how'd you get this?!" Phil demanded, looking closely, "It's gotta be some sort of counterfeit…no, it's the real deal." "Can we enter the games NOW?" Sora asked. Phil grumbled a little, then he answered, "Well…I guess so. We start with the preliminaries, which are about to begin, soon. Some real weirdos entered in as well, so watch yourselves out there!"

Sora eagerly entered into the Coliseum first, followed by the others. "This is it, guys!" Sora cheered, "We'll pass the preliminaries, and win this whole thing!" "Don't get too confident, Sora." Philia retorted, "Remember, Phil said there were some tough ones, so let's keep on our toes." "Right!" Sora answered.

Suddenly, the edges of the arena glowed, forming a barrier around them. Then several Soldiers and Blue Rhapsody Heartless appeared, ready to fight. "Let's go!" Sora declared, and the team dove into the battle.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Dark Cloud**

The first round was quite easy for the heroes, especially since they started off the battle with a triple Thunder spell from Sora, Donald and Phil that took out most of the Heartless, before they ended up finishing them off.

"You're no heroes yet, but you ain't doing bad." Phil stated, calling them over after the first battle, "Lucky you came to me for coaching." "Yeah. That new spell you gave us sure won that round!" Sora stated eagerly. _Sure, if you leave out the part that Phil also just disregarded us to enter the games._ Philia added in thought.

Just then, Sora and Philia felt something; a powerful aura. It was coming from a young man that was entering the ring from behind Phil. He was tall, with blonde hair that was spikier than Sora's, strong light blue eyes, and a uniform that made him very soldier-like, although he had a torn red cape wrapped around his neck like shoal, flowing in the back. His left hand had golden nails, forming a claw, and he also had one black wing on the back of his left shoulder blade.

As he passed the crew, Philia and Sora looked up at him, as he passed right by them, almost sizing them up. He then looked away, back to the arena, as everyone watched him leave.

"Who was that?" Sora asked. "I don't know." Philia answered. "Somethin' tells me he'll be a tough one to beat." Phil noticed, "Who knows, maybe you'll end up facin' him." _With the kind of power he's showing, I hope we are able to get stronger to face him throughout the tournament._ Sora thought to himself.

"Alright! Break's over." Phil told the team, "Get out there and show me what you are made of!" "You got it!" Donald squawked in response, "Let's go, Goofy!" "Right!" Goofy answered, and they took onto the battlefield. Philia patted Sora's shoulder, making sure he was focused and ready. Sora broke away from his thoughts on the fighter that passed them, and nodded in assurance to Philia.

For the next two rounds, the team had to face off against several Heartless. One of them composed of a ton of Shadows and Blue Rhapsodies, and the other contained nothing but Blue Rhapsodies and Red Nocturnes. They new that the Blue was weak to fire, while the Red was weak to blizzard, so they used that to their advantage to quickly extinguish their opponents.

"Say, you're better than I thought, kids!" Phil told the four after their last battle, "Wish he was here to see this." "Who?" Sora questioned. Philia then recalled what that 'lord of the dead' guy told them, and questioned, "Would it be that guy we've heard, Hercules?" "You got it!" Phil answered, "He's a hero if ever there was one. Too bad he's off visiting his father."

The quartet looked at one another, wondering. That guy before was right; Phil really did think of Hercules as a true, blue hero. However, that wasn't gonna stop them from showing that they had what it takes to become true heroes themselves. At least, that's what Donald and Sora were thinking. With their minds set, they entered back into the battlefield, ready for action.

The next round of their battle was composed of all the Heartless they have fought so far in the previous matches, which made things challenging for the crew. Next was a sleuth of Blue Rhapsodies, who wanted revenge. Fortunately, Fire spells were especially helpful against them.

After the last battle, Philia gave a sigh of relief. "Gettin' tired, Philia?" Sora asked. "No. You?" she responded. "Not a bit." Sora answered, thumping his chest. "Ya know, we might actually win this whole thing." Goofy suggested. "I'm sure we will!" Donald answered. "Then let's keep going, everyone!" Sora declared, getting cheers from the others.

Out of earshot, behind the iron gates that led into the Coliseum, the lord of the dead, a.k.a Hades, was watching them, along with the same young man who passed the heroes before, leaning on the wall right by him.

"That little punk is your next opponent, okay?" Hades told the young man, "Now, don't blow it. Just take him out." The young man paused, then looking at Sora, he questioned, "The great god of the Underworld is afraid of a kid? Sorry, but my contract says…"

"I know! You think I don't know? I wrote the contract!" Hades barked at him, "I know it says you're only required to kill Hercules in this tournament. But you've gotta fight that kid and dandelion tuff to get to him. Just put it on my tab, and do it!"

He noticed that the young man still was ill-convinced, so Hades added, "It's just like that old goat says: Rule 11: It's all just a game, so let loose and have fun with it! I mean, a casualty or two along the way is no big deal, right?" The young man straightened himself, and walked away from Hades, readying himself, regardless of what Hades asked him to do.

"Geez. Stiffer than the stiffs back home." Hades mumbled, "Still, suckers like him are hard to come by…" From behind him, hidden in the darkness, three large pairs of red eyes glowed, along with the sounds of monstrous growls, hungry for action.

Meanwhile, the heroes were dealing with a lot of tough opponents, including a couple of Large Body Heartless that entered the field. Philia was more of the expert when it came to fighting the Large Bodies, especially since her speed and Armor Pierce Dagger Skill were capable of breaking through its' defenses.

"We're in the final match!" Sora cheered, once they defeated the last set of Heartless. "Still, I wonder how the Heartless even signed up for the tournaments in the first place?" Philia asked, "Could this be related to how well coordinated they were in the last world?" "Sounds like it." Goofy answered. The others paused, wondering about who would be able to manipulate the Heartless like that.

"Alright, break times over, rookies!" Phil called to them, "Now here comes the final match! Your opponent is that guy we met after the first round. And he's been slashing through the competition with no delays."

"Does he have a name?" Sora asked. "Sure. Guy's name is Cloud." Phil answered, "And unlike his name, he ain't no cream puff in the sky. If ya ain't careful, he'll make matchsticks out of all of ya." The team nodded in understanding. Philia and Sora both felt his power. Now, it was time to see if they had what it takes to beat him.

They entered the arena, just as the young man named Cloud did. The quartet readied their weapons, while Cloud produced a massive sword that was as large as he was, bound up in bandages. "I wonder why Hades is so anxious to get rid of you?" "What are you talking about?" Philia questioned. Cloud paused before shaking his head, then answering, "Nothing." Sora and Philia instantly felt him ready to fight, and they readied themselves, too.

Cloud dashed in very quickly, surprising the heroes, and with one swipe, slashed them all away. Donald, Goofy and Sora tumbled to the ground, while Philia managed to keep her footing. Sora sat back up, massaging his head. _He moved so quick! And with that giant sword, too!_ he thought. _It's no wonder he's made it to the top of the preliminaries._ Philia wondered, _We can't mess around with this guy. We need to act sharp!_

"Too easy…" Cloud muttered, leaping up, and diving towards the fallen Sora. "No you don't!" Philia responded with a quick block with her dagger. The impact of the attack made Philia struggle, and she collapsed to one knee, gritting her teeth. "Philia!" Sora called out, and he rose up to strike Cloud when he was open, knocking him away. He reached out for Philia, who took his hand, and was pulled to her feet.

They charged in together as Cloud thrusted forward, charging with a dark energy. The two heroes dodged to either side, then slashed each of his shoulders, damaging him. He then leapt into the air, and unleashed a sword dive, aiming at Sora. Sora rolled out of the way as a dark shockwave surrounded the spot he landed on.

Philia then unleashed a light-blue aura from her dagger, unleashing her Side Bite Dagger Skill as she unleashed two quick horizontal slashes. Sora then unleashed a series of slashes from his Keyblade, ending with a Ripple Drive that sent Cloud flipping backwards in the air, but he landed on his feet, and continued the assault.

Donald and Goofy were able to recover and join Philia and Sora in an intense fight with Cloud, who was not only swift with his oversized blade, but he knew how to swing it about. Not only that, but he used some type of dark energy to go with his attacks, though it wasn't as dark as the Heartless. What's more, Cloud was keen on taking out Sora, though it didn't stop him from trying to knock out Philia, Donald and Goofy while he was at it.

After a few minutes, Donald and Goofy were down again, and Philia and Sora were trying to hold their ground against Cloud, who was taking a beating from the fight. Sora charged in, and Cloud unleashed a dashing thrust. Sora dodged once again, but Cloud quickly recovered and did another dashing thrust, changing angles and striking Sora, sending him tumbling. Cloud didn't relent on this assault as he charged in with another dashing thrust, and another.

Sora didn't look like he could take another hit as Cloud thrusted once more. Philia found an opening, and unleashed her Armor Pierce skill directly on Cloud's sword, knocking it to one side, and stopping his assault. Sora fell to the ground, moaning in pain.

Philia glared at Cloud, who calmly regained himself, leapt back, and then leapt forward with an overhead slash at Philia. "Not on your life!" Philia barked, twirling her blade as she thrusted it forward, unleashing a Blizzard spell directly in Cloud's face, faltering him once more.

Sora drank a potion, and got back up on his feet. He saw Cloud was phased thanks to Philia, and used this to unleash a Fire spell to back up Philia's last attack, and the fireball exploded upon impact with Cloud. The two came together as Cloud landed on the ground, then fell to one knee, bracing himself with his free hand. Donald and Goofy regained themselves, and saw the two heroes standing together, glaring at Cloud. Phil was on the sidelines, leaping up and down, cheering at the team's victory.

Sora then stepped forward as Cloud got back onto his feet again. He looked to Sora's weapon, eyeing the strength it was carrying. _I thought that was some sort of plastic toy, but it's got some power behind it._ he thought to himself, _Is that what Hades is after?_

Philia then looked behind him and gasped, "Look out!" Cloud turned, and was immediately stepped on by a large paw. The paw was from a large, black, three-headed dog with sharp teeth and red eyes.

Sora, Donald and Goofy gasped at the sight of the massive beast. Philia was also shocked, then she noticed something standing at the entrance on the other side of the Coliseum. The same guy who gave them the pass was watching them. "Oh, right, there one other rule I forgot: Accidents happen." he stated, and he disappeared into the dark corridor. _That guy again!_ Philia thought, angry, _I knew it; he was WANTING to take us out!_

Sora was paralyzed by the sight of the three-headed hound, who raised their heads, growling at the young Keyblade wielder. "Sora, look out!" Philia cried, charging in as all three heads lunged forward at him. Suddenly, another character came into the field, and punched all three hounds with his bare fists. He was a young man like Cloud, well build, with muscular arms, brown hair, bronze armor, a blue cape, and sandals.

He leapt forward, and started pushing the large dog by the underside, lifting his paw off of Cloud. "Herc!" Phil called out, indicating the team that this guy was Hercules. "Phil, get them out of here!" Hercules ordered. Donald and Goofy made no hesitation to leave the scene.

"C'mon, kid!" Phil called out to Sora. "But, what about Cloud?" Philia asked the saytr, indicating the unconscious warrior. "Don't worry. I'll take care of him." Hercules answered, "Now, get going!" Sora and Philia looked at one another, then took off with Phil to the lobby. Hercules shoved Cerberus enough to pick up Cloud and escape the falling paws and heads. He turned around, and saw the three heads lower and roar in his face, ready to feast on him.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Vs. Cerberus**

Inside the lobby, the team regained themselves from exhaustion. "Whew, that was close!" Phil sighed. "What was that big mutt?!" Donald demanded. "That was Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld. Big piece of work, but Herc should be able to handle him. But then again, maybe not…" Phil gave a foreboding look on his face as he muttered, "This doesn't look good."

"That guy who gave us the pass before set him on us!" Philia told the team, "I saw him, blue flaming hair and all. He was standing at the entrance on the other side." "So there WAS a string attached!" Sora realized, grimacing.

"Blue flamin' hair? That was Hades, and he rules the Underworld!" Phil explained, "You mean that guy gave you that pass? Why in Zeus would he do that?" "I don't know, but we have to go back in there and help Hercules beat Cerberus!" Sora declared, with Philia nodding in agreement.

"Hold on, you ain't going back in there, are ya?!" Phil demanded. Sora and Philia nodded in response as Donald and Goofy joined beside them, also ready to fight. "This ain't just some match. This is for real!" Phil barked at them. "I'm not afraid." Sora answered, "You can decide if I'm hero material or not."

"Personally, I don't care if we are made heroes in his eyes or not." Philia retorted, "I just care about doing the right thing, whether others see me as a hero, or a villain." And with that, the team set out to help Hercules defeat Cerberus.

Meanwhile, in the arena, Cerberus had Hercules backed into a wall, still carrying Cloud over his shoulder. _Just a few more good hits, and I can finish this._ Hercules thought to himself.

"Hercules!" Sora cried out, racing onto the field with Philia, Donald and Goofy beside him. Cerberus perked his ears, and turned to face the four heroes. "We can take care of this mutt!" Sora shouted, "Get out of here!" Hercules nodded, and raced passed the arena and Phil, who stood at the entrance.

"Kids, I got two words of advice fore you: Attack!" Phil shouted out. "THAT'S ONE WORD!" Philia barked back, causing Phil to be frightened and leave the arena.

Cerberus roared as it reared back, and the heroes leapt up as it thrusted its' paws to the ground, unleashing a powerful earthquake. Sora, Philia and Goofy struck the three heads of the beast, followed by Donald's Thunder spell. Cerberus retorted by stretching his necks out and attempting to bite the trio. Philia parried the assault to push her back. Goofy shielded himself, and Sora did a split as the teeth narrowly grazed him.

The trio landed onto the ground, while Donald moved away for distance. One of the heads eyed him, and fired off a large ball of fiery energy that nearly roasted him. Sora, Goofy and Philia saw the fireball as it exploded, then saw the next head of Cerberus unleash another fireball at the trio. Goofy and Philia dodged to either side, while Sora smacked the fireball, sending it hurdling back into the dog's face.

While the one head was reeling from the damage it took, the other two heads were firing more fireballs at Philia and Goofy, who leapt out of the way before they got hit directly. Both of them were singed slightly, but fortunate. Philia then turned around and unleashed her Cross Edge Dagger Skill, slicing it twice on the side. Goofy charged at the head that nearly attacked him, and unleashed his Rocket technique, uppercutting it in the jaw.

The Cerberus backed off from the two, foaming in the mouth with dark energy. "What's it doin'?!" Donald demanded. "I got a bad feeling, all of a sudden." Philia stated. Cerberus then unleashed a fume of dark energy into the ground before it. Wondering what it was doing, the heroes didn't even notice until it was too late, as large spikes of darkness shot out of the ground beneath them, knocking them into the air, in pain.

Groaning in pain, they saw that the spikes continued to keep going about the field. When they landed, the four of them evaded the attack as fast as they could. _This dog certainly has more tricks than your average dog!_ Philia thought, _We have to take it down before we play dead!_

The battle was an intense one, considering Cerberus was quick on its' feet, biting fiercely and causing shockwaves on the ground within close range, and unleashing fireballs and breathing dark energy into the ground to shoot at the heroes feet from a distance. Fortunately, the team knew a few weaknesses while dealing with the three-headed dog. One, the fireballs it unleashed could be repelled back with a well-timed physical attack. Two, Cerberus's back was also vulnerable to get up on to avoid the pillars of darkness, and deal damage on the back of the heads of the Cerberus. Three, Cerberus cared only for what was in front of it, so if one or two of the heroes was dealing with the heads, the others could handle the sides and back.

"We almost have him!" Sora called to Donald and Goofy after five minutes of dealing with the beast, "Let's take him down, right away!" "Right!" the two cheered. Philia was too busy to answer, for she was avoiding the fangs of the beast chasing after her. "I've had it up to here with you!" she barked, clashing her dagger against an oncoming set of teeth, "Can you just back off from me?!"

Cerberus howled as he raised his front paws high, ready for a shock wave. Philia saw an opening, and decided to take it quickly, before it unleashed its' attack fully. She leapt up, roaring as she readied her dagger. It started to shine an aura, which was yellow; a new color. She then unleashed a cross slash in front of her, but a shockwave of energy encircled her like a wheel, which was wide enough to hit the raised heads, too.

Sora, Donald and Goofy were amazed at this new attack, and saw Cerberus falter. The back legs slipped, and he toppled onto its' back. "Now, switch out!" Philia shouted to the trio, falling backwards to the ground again. Sora, Donald and Goofy charged in, leapt high, and slammed with all their might onto the belly of the Cerberus. It roared in agony from the combination of damage.

Sora, Donald and Goofy backed off to one side, while Philia backflipped away from Cerberus, who rolled heavily onto its' belly, growling in pain. It attempted to stand, but it couldn't. All three heads had no energy to raise themselves, and they collapsed, their fangs open, and their muscles limp. The heroes defeated Cerberus.

"We did it!" Sora cheered, punching the air. "Take that!" Donald cheered, spinning about and raising his staff. "Ya-hoo-hoo!" Goofy howled, uppercutting the air with his shield in victory.

Philia sighed, twirling her dagger, and placing it into her sheath, while placing her free hand on her hip. She looked at Cerberus, grateful that it was over. Still, something came to mind in her last words. _That switch out felt…familiar._ she thought to herself, _Why was that?_

Suddenly, she gasped as pain shot into her head, and she collapsed to her knees, clutching her skull. For a moment, it was there, and the next moment, it wasn't. She breathed heavily, already winded from the battle against Cerberus, but back in her right mind again.

"Philia!" Sora called out, leading the team over to her. She looked to them, seeing the worried expression on their faces. "Are you okay?" Goofy questioned. "Y-Yeah." Philia answered, getting to her feet.

"Gosh, you seemed to be in pain." Jiminy stated, hopping out of Sora's vest and looking at her. "It's happened a couple times before." Philia explained, "Each of them contained a bit of info about my past."

"So, do you remember something?" Sora asked anxiously. "Sort of…" Philia answered, looking at her hand, "For one, that attack I used against Cerberus. It was called 'Round Accel'. As for what that pain in my head delivered…I remember I was not alone. Countless people in my world, fighting for our lives. The world I was from…was very dangerous, and unescapable."

Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy all looked at each other, wondering. The way she described her world, it sounded like she had a hard life before meeting them. "Gawrsh, sounds like you've been dealin' with a lot before comin' here." Goofy pointed out. Philia nodded, then added, "But I don't know why it was so dangerous. I don't know what the people looked like, or anything. I just remember that I fought to survive, but I don't know who or what I was fighting."

"I guess that explains why you are so good at fighting." Sora noted, "But don't worry. We'll help you figure out the rest of your past, okay?" Philia nodded in agreement, smiling. Sora was quite a nice kid to be around.

Just then, Donald noticed something near the feet of the Cerberus. He picked it up, examining it. It was an arm band, with dark, fiery emblems on it. "What is this?" Donald questioned, raising it to the heroes. "That looks like the Inferno Band." Jiminy answered, "It gives good endurance, and resistance to dark and fire attacks." "Donald, why don't you use it." Sora told Donald, "You could use it." Donald slipped it onto his upper arm, and the team walked out of the coliseum, reporting their victory to Phil.

Unbeknownst to them, Hades appeared once again, standing next to the fallen Cerberus. He was irritated by losing this battle. "Darn! I was sure that would put an end to all of them! Especially that damn Hercules!" he growled, the flames around him glowing red as he shot a pillar of fire into the air.

After a few seconds, he then calmed himself as he told himself, "Wait a minute. What are you worried about? Relax. I just need to add a few more touches, and the Keyblade is mine."

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Another Deal**

They returned to the lobby, where they explained everything to Phil and Hercules. Cloud had left a short while before the team arrived. When they were finished, Phil thought about it, then went and grabbed a piece of paper, and started writing something on it. After he finished, he lifted himself onto a pedestal in front of Sora and the team, with Hercules right next to him. It was a speech congratulating them in defeating Cerberus, and clearing the preliminaries of the tournament.

"…Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes, and cover upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Further…" Phil was interrupted when Donald squawked, "Hey! What do you mean 'junior heroes'?!" Phil lowered the speech as he answered, "You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero."

The foursome looked at one another, confused. _Was there more to being a hero than just winning battles against powerful monsters, and saving people?_ Sora wondered.

"So, what does it take?" Goofy asked Hercules. "Well, that's just something you'll have to find out for yourselves." Hercules answered, "Just the way that I did." Sora and Philia looked to each other. Now, they had to find ANOTHER thing in their journey; the potentials of a true hero. At least, this was something that felt easier to find.

"No problem." Sora declared, "We'll start by proving ourselves in the games." "It would make us stronger, and quite possibly help us find some answers." Philia pointed out.

"There ain't gonna be any games for a while." Phil retorted, "Gotta clean up the mess from that last battle first." "Ah, phooey!" Donald moaned as he and Goofy walked out. "Okay, we'll be back." Sora told Phil. "But, when will we know when the games start up again?" Philia questioned, "We can't just continue to come back here all the time." "We'll figure it out…eventually." Sora stated, and the two walked out of the room, with Hercules waving them off.

"I still can't believe those squirts actually beat Cerberus." Phil stated when the team was out of earshot. "Just between us, I'd already worn Cerberus down by the time those guys jumped in." Hercules whispered to his trainer. Phil looked to Hercules, realizing the truth in the manner. "My lips are sealed." he answered, looking back as the doors to the entrance closed behind the junior heroes.

The team walked down the steps of the entrance, and saw a familiar spiky head off in the distance, sitting on a flight of steps. It was Cloud, and he was looking disappointed. "It's him again." Philia noticed. "Should we talk to him?" Goofy asked. "Might as well. I don't think he's bad." Sora answered.

The team approached Cloud, and Sora asked, "Hey, are you all right?" Cloud looked up as Donald and Goofy wandered away, looking up at the plaques nearby. "Yeah." he answered.

"Tell me, why did you go along with that guy, anyway?" Philia asked, talking about Hades. Cloud rested his head on his hands, wondering if he should answer. He then said, "I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help. I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired." He stood up, and looked at one of the statues at the entrance as he continued, "I fell into darkness, and I couldn't find the light."

Philia looked sympathetically at Cloud. Just like she was, Cloud was looking for something, and made deals to find it. It was just like what Hades tried to do to them. No…it was before that. Philia made a deal to help Sora, Donald and Goofy find what they were searching for, and was hoping to find what she was looking for as well; her memories. Was it worth it? She knew it wasn't fighting for the darkness, but against it. But would the journey help her fully remember who she was?

"You'll find it." Sora told Cloud, getting Philia's attention, "I'm searching, too. So are the rest of us." "For your lights?" Cloud asked. Sora nodded, along with Philia. Cloud approached Sora, placing something in Sora's hand. His other hand glowed, and he placed it on Sora's shoulder. He glowed suddenly, then it vanished instantly. "Don't lose sight of it." Cloud told Sora as he walked away. Sora looked down himself, feeling something. It was a new power that he hadn't felt before, and it wasn't magic either. He looked to Philia, who wondered what Cloud just gave to Sora.

Sora then turned around to Cloud and called out, "How about a rematch sometime? Fair and square, no dark powers involved!" Cloud stopped for a second, brushing the bangs on his hair as he answered, "I think I'll pass." With that, he walked away, and vanished.

"So what did Cloud do to you?" Philia asked Sora. Sora summoned his Keyblade, focusing on the power Cloud gave him. He concentrated, then his eyes flashed as he glowed with energy, and thrusted forwards with great speed. He did this same technique several more times, then unleashed an energy-encased final attack on his seventh strike. Donald and Goofy were amazed, and so was Philia.

"That was impressive!" Philia gasped, "It looked like the technique Cloud used on you before." "It looks like he inherited the skill to me." Sora stated, flexing his free hand, "I can feel it's power, along with the name of the move. Sonic Blade." "Sounds like it could be a handy attack to use in close quarters battles." Philia stated with a grin.

"Well ain't that just dandy!" said a voice behind them, "First you try to hire help to get what you want, and they end up helping the ones you are trying to get rid of." Hades was behind them, startling the team, then causing them to get defensive. "I mean, it's not like I was paying him or anything." Hades continued, "Still, I was really hoping he could at least take down Hercules in a snap!"

"Too bad!" Sora growled. "I can't believe you tricked us like that!" Philia snarled, "You set that dog upon Cloud and us, trying to kill us!" "Hey, accidents happen!" Hades answered, "It's what I get for not putting him on a leash. But hey, I didn't do anything to trick you. You just chose to use the pass I gave you." Philia was irritated that he was trying to pin the blame back on them.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you what; I'll strike up another deal with you." Hades told them, "And this one, you don't have to follow through with." "No thanks." Sora answered, "I had enough of your deals." "Same here." Philia answered. Donald and Goofy both glared at Hades, agreeing with the others.

"Just hear me out, will ya?" Hades told them, "Okay, look; you don't know when the next games are gonna show up, right? Well, I can give you the info. I can tell you when they happen, as they happen, and you can just happen to show up and enter in. I mean, you don't have to, and let some other shmuck try to take the prizes themselves, but hey, at least I won't force you into doing anything you don't want to do."

"And just HOW exactly will you be telling us this?" Philia asked, curiously, "You don't know where we are at all times." "Don't worry. I know about your little…secret." Hades answered, surprising the team, "And I can just leave little notes in that ship of yours. That's it; no strings attached."

The junior heroes looked at each other, then Philia asked, "I bet you'll try to set up more monsters to try to kill us, won't you? Like you did with Cerberus." "Well, of course!" Hades answered, "I mean, we are talking about the games! The Olympus Coliseum should be exciting. And what's more exciting than to slay powerful monsters in front of a live audience, and proving yourself as heroes, eh? I mean, who knows; you might just change that billy goat's mind, and prove yourselves better than what he imagines."

"…Okay, fine." Sora muttered, getting the attention of the others, "But there better not be anything else you are planning!" "Relax, kid! I gave you all the details of what I have in store, so you know what's to come." Hades assured them, "Now if you don't mind, I need to freshen up. All this excitement and infuriation has messed up my 'do." He walked away from the heroes, while they glared at the back of him.

"I really don't like him." Donald muttered. "Still, he told us everything he has in store for us, and when the next games are." Sora stated, "As long as he does that, without anything else, then we're good, right? Besides, we'll get stronger if we enter more games, and get prizes as well. Plus, we might just show ourselves as heroes after all."

Philia frowned a bit, but decided not to argue. She would only have something to say if Hades tricks them one way or another. For now, they had other things to take care of. Goofy called upon the Gummi ship, and they disappeared from the world.

"Heh. All the pieces are in place, now." Hades chuckled to himself, "Here's what you do. Let Hercules train the kid. In the next games, I'll take care of them both." He curled his fist, fully ready to follow through with his plan. He then stopped when he sensed a presence from behind. It was Maleficent, arriving from dark green flames.

"Who invited you to the party?" Hades asked without turning to her, "Stay out of this. This is my show." "As you wish." Maleficent answered calmly, "Fight to your heart's content." Hades smiled and nodded, glad she saw things his way. However, he noticed the snide remark hidden within the message, and that ticked him off. To her, there were more important things than this trivial manner.

* * *

 **And that's how the heroes, I mean 'junior heroes', will be coming back to this world again. For those tournaments, I'll only get to the juicy battles, and not all of the Heartless rounds. Still, I hope you liked this episode. Please, leave a review, tell your friends, and make sure to stay tuned for the next episode!**

* * *

 **Next time on SAK: HO:**

 **Sora: I'm looking for my friends. Their names are Kairi and Riku.**

 **Tarzan: Kairi...Riku...friends...**

 **Philia: How did I get tangled up in this mess? And what's with the gorillas?**

 **Goofy: Gee, I hope Sora and Philia are okay.**

 **Donald: Ah, who needs Sora! We can find the King on our own!**

 **Philia: Another fine mess Sora got us into. I hope we can find a way to patch up ourselves and help the gorillas.**

 **On the next Sword Art Kingdom: Heart's Origin:**

 **Deep Jungle! Separate Friendships!**

 **Philia & Sora: Let's go chart our next adventure!**


End file.
